Engaging
by BlueSuedeShoes
Summary: CHANGES COMPLETE! Based on a Chlollie prompt: Chloe and Oliver were friends as kids before she moved to Smallville. Oliver is shocked when he runs into her years later and finds that she is engaged to Lex Luthor
1. Prologue

**Author's Comment: Another response to a prompt from livejournal:**

**.**

**This one's from liasonmorgan, so thank you for the inspiration! We'll see how this goes!**

* * *

--Prologue--

No. Way.

It couldn't be her...could it?

He recognized the smile and the eyes...it had to be her. But then, it had been years. They'd been what? Ten years old?

In spite of the unlikelihood of the situation, Oliver was certain. The blonde standing across the room had to be Chloe Sullivan, the girl you might call his childhood sweetheart in a way. At least, he'd looked at her one day as a seven-year-old and told her frankly--and with a hint of exasperation--that he was going to have to marry her someday.

He chuckled, remembering the deep frown that had graced her innocent, six-year-old features in response. "Why?"

"Because you can't take care of yourself, so it's up to me," he'd said gravely.

He shook his head, wondering what she was doing at the Excelsior Academy ten year reunion. She'd moved away to Smallville when they were still kids. He couldn't believe the odds of running into her here of all places. She looked amazing, dressed in a simple black cocktail dress that showed off her now mouth-watering figure. Who knew the scrawny little girl would grow up to be so gorgeous?

He was making his way across the room to her, trying to side-step old acquaintances that he wasn't really friends with and whose names he didn't really care to try and fail to remember. Half way there, he stopped short, feeling all the blood drain from his face.

Luthor? _Luthor?_

Yes, it was him. None other than Lex Luthor had just walked up to her, two drinks in his hands. He'd handed her one and then slid a hand around her waste so possessively Oliver felt himself grinding his teeth in response.

What in the name of all that was just in this world was Chloe Sullivan doing on the arm of that disgusting, murderous piece of slime?

He hesitated now, rethinking his strategy. He wanted badly to go talk to her, to see how she was doing, and to find out why in her right mind she was with Luthor, but he also wanted to avoid Luthor. Just being in the same room as that foul low-life was making his hand itch to slug him.

The desire to see Chloe again won out, and the next thing he knew he was approaching his worst enemy, a friendly smile plastered on his face.

"Lex!" Oliver said genially, extending a hand.

Luthor raised an eyebrow and accepted the handed coldly. "Oliver Queen. I hope you're well." His tone implied otherwise, although technically Luthor's reason to dislike Oliver was much less fresh. Oliver hated Luthor because he was an enemy to the Green Arrow. Luthor hated Oliver because Oliver had been a bully in junior high. Oliver couldn't help but think Luthor was pathetic for not being able to let go of something so stupid and so long ago, but he reminded himself that it was easy for the bully to say that. He hated to admit it, but Luthor had been the victim.

Oliver was about to respond, but Chloe interrupted them.

"Ollie?" she asked in a delighted voice, a glowing smile spreading slowly across her face.

Ding ding ding. Mission accomplished.

Oliver feigned slight scrutiny followed by recognition. "My god, Chloe Sullivan?" he asked, matching her smile.

Luthor looked between the two of them, a dark expression flitting across his face.

"You two know each other?"

"We were kids together!" Chloe said, positively beaming. She released her light hold on Luthor's elbow to embrace Oliver. "I can't believe it! My gosh, how many years has it been now?" she shook her head in disbelief.

He grinned. "Too many. How are you doing?"

"Really well," she gave a smile that Oliver found difficult to decipher, as though something were hidden behind it. She glanced up at Luthor happily. "You two were friends in school?" she asked.

Oliver shifted uncomfortably as Luthor responded. "Something like that," he said, a little curtly.

Oliver scratched his head. "I was kind of a jerk, but Lex was a nice kid." He felt disgusted with himself for saying it, but essentially it was true. He had been a jerk, and Luthor hadn't been totally consumed by evil until he got older.

Chloe was still smiling, oblivious. "Why do I have the feeling that you were a total jock who spent too much time fixing his hair?" she teased Oliver.

He shrugged sheepishly. "What can I say? Hormones did a number on me."

She laughed lightly, a sound he'd thought he'd never hear again. "I'll say. I feel like you're still ten years old in my mind. When did you grow up?" she asked.

"Don't worry. I only look like an adult. I still act half my age most days."

"Chloe, dear, I think I see an old professor I'd like to talk to," Luthor interrupted purposefully, trying to draw her away.

Chloe bit her lip regretfully, then, working up her nerve, said, "Why don't I come find you in a moment. I'd really like to catch up with Ollie."

Oliver watched Luthor carefully. If he was angry, he hid it well. He kissed her on the cheek and left them.

"So," Chloe said, once he was gone. "Tell me what you've been up to."

Oliver shrugged. "Running the parents' business. A little of this, a little of that." Running around at night fighting crime in a leather suit. Occasionally drinking more than I should and sleeping with women I shouldn't give the time of day. "You?"

She smiled that mysterious smile again, and Oliver found himself almost desperate to know what it meant. "Well, Lex and I are engaged."


	2. Chapter 1

--1--

**Author's Comment: Short, I know. Pitifully short, but somehow, it just had to end where it did. Sorry!**

* * *

Wait, what was that? Sorry, did the earth just stop dead still? Chloe Sullivan? Little Chloe? Sweet, innocent, slightly nosy but always well-meaning Chloe? The girl next door? She was engaged to that--that--that _villain_?

Oliver felt his entire body tense in horror. With a great effort, he managed to keep his smile in place. "What?" he asked through his teeth.

She held up her hand, flashing her oversized, distasteful engagement ring. "Since last September. Wedding's in July."

He tried not to look at her in complete horror. "Really?" he asked. "You--you and Luthor? Lex?" he corrected himself. "How _nice_," he forced the word out with a cough. "Sorry," he said, "Frog in my throat. But you and Luthor. I mean Lex. How do you two know each other?"

She shrugged, glancing over at her _fiance_. Oliver forced himself to think the word. "Well, my best friend in high school saved his life, and then they became friends, and then he and I met. The rest is history."

No, he thought, the rest was a plot for a bad horror film. "Wow," he said. "That's...something else. Glad to see you're so happy. That's a um, great ring," he said, attempting to sound admiring.

She gave a light laugh, fingering the ring on her hand. "Lex picked it out," she said, by way of explanation. "I would have preferred something a little more understated, but he's all about the grand gestures."

Oliver felt sick.

She smiled yet again, and he finally realized what the mystery was behind it. It was the engaged look. "What about you?" she asked him. "I don't see any women hanging off your arm this evening. Wife at home?" she teased.

He felt his ears grow a little hot. "Who me? Get tied down?" he scoffed. "What woman would put up with this, I ask you?" he asked, gesturing himself comically.

Oliver was starting to wish he hadn't seen her at all, that he could go on with his ignorant existence that included no more of Chloe Sullivan than a few pleasant memories of her in a sandbox in the backyard of her house.

She laughed charmingly. "Oh, Ollie," she rolled her eyes at him. "Somehow I sincerely doubt that you have trouble finding women to put up with you. Now finding a woman that _you_ can put up with: that might be a bit more challenging." She gave him a knowing look.

"Good to know you can still do that," he said.

She frowned slightly. "Do what?"

"Be insightful to the point that you sound like you can read people's minds," he joked. He remembered how she used to say what he was thinking before he'd finished thinking it.

She rewarded him with another laugh.

He looked over at Luthor, who was chatting seriously with another alumni.

"So you and Luthor, huh?" he repeated, unable to stop himself.

"Me and Lex," she responded, forcing him to believe it.

"Funny, I've worked with Luthor a little over the years, and he doesn't really seem like your type." He was about ready to kick himself, and he could feel her eyes glaring holes in the back of his head. He turned back to her slowly.

"The last time you saw me, I was nine years old," she reminded him. "How would you know what my type is?"

He shrugged. "Sorry, didn't mean anything personal by it. I was just thinking that if you're anything like you were when we were kids that it's an odd match, but hey! Whatever makes you happy, right?"

And then it happened. At his words, "Whatever makes you happy," an unguarded expression flashed across Chloe's face but was instantly replaced by a serene smile and a nod. He wasn't sure what it was at first, but then he recognized it.

_An eight-year-old Chloe bit back tears bravely as Oliver gently helped her sit up._

"_What the heck were you doing up there?" he asked, looking up at the large tree Chloe had just fallen out of._

_She didn't answer, but looked at her now skinned knee with a wince._

"_You're going to need a bandage," he told her, helping her stand. "Come on, we'll go to my house. It's closer." He put a supportive arm around Chloe and helped her limp up the vast stretch of lawn to his house._

_Chloe put on a brave face once inside the kitchen, where Nancy, the housekeeper, was taking a look at the wound. "Now, Miss Chloe, what were you doing in that tree?" she asked the small blonde creature before her, repeating Oliver's earlier question._

_But Chloe still refused to answer. "Is it going to sting?" she asked, eyeing the cotton ball Nancy was wielding._

"_Just a bit, sugar," Nancy responded kindly. Chloe gritted her teeth determinedly and Oliver watched as she refused to give way to the tears that welled up in her eyes. Just like her, trying not to cry even when she was really hurt._

_It was later, after Nancy had successfully bandaged Chloe's knee, that Chloe and Oliver were sitting under the self-same menacing tree, just talking about nothing in general._

_Finally Oliver looked over at her and asked her again. "Chlo, what were you doing up there?"_

_She bit her lip, looking away. "Hiding."_

_He frowned. "Hiding from what?"_

_She didn't answer, but looked in the direction of her house, just visible at the edge of the Queen Estate._

_Oliver caught on. "Fighting again?"_

_She nodded, and Oliver saw a strange expression take hold of his friend. She looked like she was trying to be brave even though it scared her how much her parents fought, and she looked like she was trying not to cry or trying to pretend she was all right, but really, she was just flat out scared and trapped in a world that she had no control over._

_Oliver was young, and he didn't know what it meant or what he could do about it, just that it bothered him. "Want to go swimming?" he asked her, hoping to distract her._

_She gave him a funny look. "It's almost dark."_

_He shrugged. "So what?"_

_She opened her mouth, ready to retort, then she frowned. "I--I don't know," she looked amazed at the idea that she'd just assumed that no one should swim when it was getting dark, but really there was no good reason not to._

"_Come on," he said, grinning. "We'll get your suit." He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up, racing her to her house and letting her win like he always did._

Oliver found himself staring at her.

"What?" Chloe frowned.

"I--nothing," he said, regaining his composure. It was too late, though. He'd seen that look before and the fact that it had crossed her face now, however briefly, meant one thing and one thing only:

Chloe was trapped and she was trying to pretend she wasn't scared.

He made up his mind then and there. There was no alternative. He had to rescue her because she would never lift a finger to rescue herself.


	3. Chapter 2

--2--

"Ollie?" Chloe said, frowning. "Ollie? Come back to me!" she laughed, seeing how zoned out he was once again.

He nearly jumped. He'd gotten lost in that same memory for the second time. "Sorry, I just remembered that time you fell out of the tree back home. Remember?" he grinned.

She grimaced. "Don't remind me. I still have a faint scar on my knee."

He chuckled.

"What made you think of that?"

He shrugged. "No idea."

There was a short but pregnant pause.

"So are you still living in Smallville?" he asked, forcing conversation back into play.

"Actually, yes, but not for long. Lex is heading back to Metropolis and I'm going with him. We're probably going to settle there for a good while. Business demands it." She glanced over at Luthor again.

"But you don't want to leave Smallville?" he devised shrewdly.

She looked back at him. "Oh! Well...I don't know. Not necessarily. I mean, I'll miss my friends, but I'm looking forward to the change of scenery. I never really belonged in a small town if you think about it."

"No, you didn't," he agreed.

"What about you?" she asked.

"Actually, we'll probably be seeing a bit of each other. I moved into Metropolis a couple of months ago. But, of course, I still have the place in Star City."

She nodded, and he wondered what she was thinking about, what memories that place brought to her mind. It always made him think of his parents, even though he'd been only five when they died. There wasn't a lot to remember.

"Well that's really great," she said after a moment, senses appearing to return. "We should get coffee together or something. I'd love to have a real chance to catch up with you," she said, beaming.

He couldn't have planned it better himself. He had to have a chance to find out what on earth she was doing with someone like Luthor. "That would be great."

"Here," she said, rummaging in a small handbag and producing her cell phone. "What's your number?"

He gave it to her, grinning.

She started to put her phone away and he stopped her. "Hey! Don't I get yours?"

She grinned mischievously. "Don't trust me to call you?"

He took his hand off her wrist. He wanted to have some sort of control over this situation, but he could tell she was purposefully avoiding giving it to him. "I guess so. It better be soon, though," he added, giving her a winning smile, trying to make her melt. "I miss you."

She started to say something but then stopped herself. "I should get back to Lex. It was really good running into you, Ollie," she said, whisking away before he could stop her or say anything else.

He watched her go, finally giving way to the scowl that had been threatening. She walked confidently up to Luthor and slid her hand onto his arm. Luthor didn't respond but went right on talking to the Dean of the University, until eventually the man turned to Chloe and introduced himself, kissing her hand.

Something was seriously wrong with any world that would put someone as innocent as Chloe under the power of someone as disturbed as Lex Luthor, he thought in disgust.

The rest of the reunion seemed pointless to him after that, and he ended up leaving early, if only because he couldn't bare to watch Chloe hanging off of Luthor any longer. He knew eventually she'd have to notice the fact that he'd been watching her, and he'd rather she didn't.

* * *

Oliver paced around the clocktower apartment he lived in impatiently. It had been a month. An entire month and he hadn't heard from her.

His bow and arrow lay forgotten on the floor, evidence that he had attempted to calm himself with a little target practice, but had eventually given way to his agitation.

It was so frustrating. He knew Luthor had settled into Metropolis a little over a week after the reunion, and he could only assume that Chloe had come with him. So why hadn't she called by now?

It was taking a lot of self-control not to go seek her out himself. To find an excuse to drop in on the Luthor penthouse. Something bothered him though. For some reason, Chloe had purposefully not given Oliver her number. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid him. Coffee had been her idea. Why was she playing her cards so carefully? Was she unsure about seeing him? Or did she not want Luthor to know she was going to see Oliver? A million possibilities ran through Oliver's mind, each more melodramatic than the next.

Seeing her on the cover of a tabloid that morning had been what had set him off. There she was, already being labeled the next Mrs. Luthor by the headline. A photographer had caught a shot of them coming out of a restaurant, Chloe looking particularly stunning. Oliver had skimmed the article in spite of himself. It was total garbage. The writer didn't seem to think that Chloe Sullivan, a "nobody from a small town," could live up to the expectations and demands of marrying into the Luthor family.

No one seemed to question what an innocent girl was doing with a man like Luthor.

It was starting to make Oliver wonder how much Chloe had changed since he'd known her. It was unfair to believe there was nothing different about her since she was a little girl. Was it possible she did belong with a man like Luthor? He shook the thought away angrily. There was no way she had changed that dramatically. Some things you just can't change. It was possible she wasn't as innocent as she once was, but he just couldn't bring himself to believe that she was anything like her--like Luthor.

He needed a drink.

Pouring a glass of single-malt whiskey for himself, Oliver settled onto the couch. The burning drink soothed him for a moment and he forced himself to think clearly.

It _had_ been a month. It might not be a wise idea to go directly seeking her, but it had been long enough that there was no harm in casually running into her.

There was a big charity function that night, one that Luthor would be sure to attend. He made a point of going to things like that for the sake of keeping up the appearance of being a philanthropist--never mind the fact that he was involved in so much under the table dealing that he was practically robbing children, not donating funds.

Oliver hadn't really been planning on going. He had a lot of other events on his calendar coming up, and he cherished the occasional nights to himself, particularly when it came to maintaining the hero aspect of his life. Now he reconsidered. It would be the perfect opportunity to "bump into" Chloe without being overbearing. If she wanted to avoid him, it would be easy, and he'd start rethinking his strategy, if she didn't...he'd still be rethinking his strategy a little bit.

He wondered whether or not to bring a date. It would be easy. There was a whole list of girls he could take, but he had a feeling that if he did get the opportunity to talk to Chloe, it would be better if they weren't hindered by a third party.

He had a feeling there were certain other reasons he didn't want Chloe to see him with a date, such as not wanting her to see the so-called "playboy" aspect of his life, but he dismissed those as not worth thinking about.

* * *

Oliver straightened his tie before stepping out of the limo, where paparazzi was waiting for him. He mostly ignored them, not concerned about what picture would end up in the magazines the next morning. He'd just caught a glimpse of Chloe and Luthor walking in ahead of him. Neither of them had seen him, but that was the way he wanted it. For now at least, he was planning to keep his head down a little bit.

He wanted to be a fly on the wall for the first portion of the evening.


	4. Chapter 3

--3--

Oliver nearly dropped his drink. He'd recognized Luthor's big bald head outside and just caught a glimpse of Chloe's golden hair, but he hadn't actually seen her.

She looked stunning. Of course, at the reunion he'd appreciated the fact that she'd grown up to be an attractive woman, but it hadn't really sunk in on him just how gorgeous she was. It was impossible not to notice now the way her shapely legs seemed to go on for miles, or the graceful curve of her back which was excessively exposed by her dress, not to mention the petite shape of her waist or the fullness of her lips and her sparkling eyes.

Oliver shook his head, focusing.

Luthor was--as much as he hated to admit it--attentive. He bought her a drink, seemed to be asking whether she wanted an appetizer (the thousand dollar dinner plates wouldn't be served until later). He kept a hand on the small of her back at all times, and he occasionally stopped to speak to just her, ignoring the people around them if only for a moment.

And Chloe just orbited around him. She never took more than a step away from him and didn't speak to anyone other than Luthor unless spoken to. Several men cast her appreciative looks as they past her and more so when they were introduced to her, but she paid them no attention. Oliver couldn't tell whether it were because she didn't notice or because she didn't want Luthor to know she'd noticed.

Finally, when Luthor excused himself from her for a moment, Oliver decided to play his hand.

He approached her.

"Chloe!" he said pleasantly from behind her, giving her a moment of surprise. "It's good to see you again," he grinned as she turned around to face him.

"Oh, Ollie," she smiled, getting over the initial startle. "You, too," she said, rising on her toes (a tricky feat considering the long, spiked heels she was already wearing) and gave him a quick, friendly peck on the cheek.

"I hadn't expected to see you here," he lied. "Lex around somewhere, is he?" he asked, pretending to glance around for the man.

She nodded. "He had to take a phone call. Should be back in a little while."

"What, ignoring you for a phone call? Sacrilege," he teased.

She laughed. "So it goes," she sighed.

"Well why don't you let me dance with you while you wait?" he offered his hand.

She looked at it nervously before glancing in the direction Luthor had gone.

"Oh, come on," he urged. "One dance won't hurt, will it?"

Reluctantly, she took his hand and allowed herself to be led onto the floor. With a strong hand he pulled her body a little too close to his.

"So I was disappointed I hadn't heard from you," he said.

She blushed. "I've been meaning to, but the move has had me a little scattered lately. It takes a while to get settled in."

"Well how about sometime this week?" he asked.

She bit her lip. "Maybe."

He frowned, disliking how noncommittal it sounded. "The move go all right, then?" he changed tactics.

She nodded. "Pretty smoothly, all in all. Fortunately, my friend Clark has taken a job at the Daily Planet recently and my cousin has been working there for months, so I still have a familiar face or two other than Lex in the city."

"I'm sure that helps a lot," he replied.

"Mmhmm."

"What was your cousin's name again?"

"Lois."

"That's right. Is Lois excited about the wedding? I think you said July, right? So only a couple of months to go, then," he added, pretending to sound excited for her.

Chloe bit her lip yet again. He wished she'd stop. "Actually, Lois isn't a huge fan of Lex's. She's happy for me, of course," she threw in hurriedly, "but she doesn't really get along with him."

Oliver nodded shrewdly. "Lex is a difficult man at times. I've done a lot of work with him over the years."

Chloe didn't respond.

"I like this dress your wearing," he said at last, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere else on the previous topic. "Green's a fantastic color on you."

She smirked suddenly.

"What?"

"I'm just not surprised you like green," she said, not keeping the teasing sound out of her voice.

He felt his brow crease. "What do you mean?"

"Well, from what I understand, you sport a little green yourself when you think no one's looking," she told him, raising an eyebrow meaningfully.

His eyes darted nervously, making sure no one was listening to them.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, Ollie. This is me we're talking about. Don't sport with my intelligence. I put the puzzle pieces together over a year ago."

He stared at her. "You did? How?"

She laughed beautifully, seeming to enjoy the upper hand she held. "Well, first of all, I determined about how much some of that equipment would cost, and figured out that only someone in your position could afford it. After that I did some computer analyzations of the Green Arrow's body type, and you were on the list of possible matches. Then I just paid close attention until I noticed that our friendly Archer seemed to appear in whatever city you happened to be in. His move from Star City to Metropolis matched yours within a couple of months."

He couldn't believe it. He swallowed nervously.

She smiled charmingly. "Oh relax. If I were going to tell someone, wouldn't I have done it by now?"

He supposed that was true, feeling a bit of relief. "I can't believe you knew..._know_."

"Well, honestly I was going to be a reporter when I was in high school. The curiosity bug never left me."

He frowned. "I kind of remember that. You wanted to be a reporter when you were a kid, too, didn't you?"

She nodded, and he didn't miss that sadness behind her eyes.

"What happened?"

She looked away evasively. "Life. I got engaged. The last thing Lex needs is a reporter for a wife. It's half the reason he and Lois don't get along. Lo doesn't know when to turn her tape recorder off, you know? Anyway, I sort of gave up on the idea a while ago regardless."

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her, but figured it was better to leave that alone for the moment. "Still, you figured it out. You're the only one...at least, the only one I know of," he added. He gave her a slightly admiring look. If it had to be anyone, he'd have picked her in a heartbeat to be the one in on his secret.

She rewarded him with another grin. "Well, I used to keep up with you a little bit just to see how you were doing," she admitted with a slight blush.

"Really?"

"We were really good friends growing up!" she defended.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed," he said. "If it had been the other way, I'd have been keeping an eye on you, too."

The song ended and Chloe pulled away to his surprise.

"I should see what's keeping Lex."

"Nothing at all, just admiring your excellent dancing," Lex's voice said, making Chloe jump.

Oliver wondered how long he'd been standing there.

"Queen," he said, extending a hand.

Oliver wondered how much effort was going into Luthor's attempt to be civil. He took the hand. "Lex," he said pleasantly, meeting the man's eyes square on as they shook hands, each silently trying to crush the other man's hand. The release was mutual, leaving them both to wonder who had the upper hand at the moment.

"I'm so glad you could keep my fiance company for me," Luthor said to him before turning to Chloe. "Would you like something to drink, Chloe?" he offered.

"You know something?" Oliver interrupted, realizing he must be insane, "A drink sounds great about now. Why don't we all head over to the bar?" he asked, ushering them both in that direction.

Luthor looked vaguely displeased. "Where is your date for this evening, Queen?"

Oliver shrugged, ordering a martini from the bartender and handing it to Chloe. "I wasn't actually expecting to be here tonight. I had a last minute cancellation that allowed me to go, but I didn't have time to scrounge up an escort."

"Really? I'm shocked," Luthor responded. Oliver fought the urge not to groan, knowing exactly where this was going to go. "I think I've seen you with two or three dates at the same time on some occasions."

Yep. There it was. He didn't look at Chloe, just brushed it off. "Oh, you know how it is, surely, Lex? Some women will do anything to rub shoulders with the rich and famous."

"How generous of you to give so many of them an opportunity then. You're a true philanthropist, Queen."

"Now, boys," Chloe joked, clearly sensing the tension between the two men.

Luthor looked innocently at her. "Didn't you know Oliver was Star City's number one playboy? I hardly see him anywhere without some gold digger hanging onto him. Not that he's usually complaining of course," he said it like a joke, nudging Oliver's arm, but they both knew he was only trying to make him look bad in front of Chloe.

Chloe only grinned, though. "Oh yes, I know. But we of all people know how tabloids like to exaggerate things, too. Don't we?" she asked her fiance pleasantly.

Luthor looked unfazed and Oliver just shrugged. "It's true, but I won't pretend I haven't been through a few reckless phases now and again. It's easy to get caught up."

Luthor raised an eyebrow. "You sound like it was five years ago. I would think it's been little more than five days with you."

Oliver slapped him on the back in a friendly gesture, keeping things like. "Oh, give me a little more credit than that, Lex. I don't think I've had a single scandal for a whole five hours."

Chloe giggled and Oliver grinned.

Luthor laughed as well, although it was a lot creepier in its way. "You really ought to think about hiring a better PR agent, Queen."

"Think yours is in the market? I imagine he's the best there is, keeping you out of the headlines the way he does," he replied, a subtle warning for Luthor to be careful. Oliver knew all about the kind of things _Luthor_ had to keep out of the papers.

"I wouldn't say that exactly," Chloe said. They both looked at her.

"Something happen?" Luthor asked her before Oliver could. Oliver suddenly remembered that the whole reason he was there that evening was because he'd seen a less than flattering article about her in a magazine.

Chloe didn't make a big deal over it, though. "Oh, you know how they've been, Lex," she reminded him. "The press doesn't exactly take an optimistic view of my engagement to Lex," she told Oliver, sounding amused. He wondered whether it bothered her more than she let on.

"Well, there you have it," Oliver said. "Proof of how stupid the media can be if they can't even have the good sense to approve of Chloe Sullivan, don't you think, Lex?"

Luthor nodded. "Fair point." He changed the subject. "So, Oliver, tell me. How's business?"

"Now, Lex, no shop talk! This is a party."

Just as Luthor was about to respond, a man walked over and interrupted them. "Mr. Luthor, how good to see you again."

Luthor looked strangely unhappy to see the man, whom Oliver didn't recognize. "Yes, of course," Luthor replied, shaking the man's hand. "Hudson, wasn't it? I believe you worked for my father."

"That I did, Mr. Luthor. Good man. Good man. I'm glad I caught you here tonight. I've been wanting to talk to you about one of his..._projects_," he said meaningfully, leaving Oliver and Chloe wondering what he was talking about.

"Of course," Luthor replied, moving away from the bar. "Well, we should certainly talk about that." The two started edging away, and it was unclear whether Luthor expected Chloe to follow him.

Chloe didn't blink twice at it, though. A suspicious expression on her face, she said wryly, "Well, I'd better go keep him out of trouble. Anything that once involved Lionel bodes no good," she said.

He frowned as she turned away from him, and he caught her elbow.

She looked at him nervously.

"Thursday," he said.

"What?"

"Coffee on Thursday. You call me and pick a time. I'll pick the place."

She licked her lips thoughtfully before conceding. "That sounds nice."

He released her and watched her glide across the floor, vanishing from sight in pursuit of Luthor.

Oliver could swear his head felt heavier with all the things she'd given him to think about. Most shocking of all was undoubtedly the fact that she'd figured out ages ago that he was the Green Arrow. It was unsettling, to say the least. He didn't know what to make of it.

His hand was still tingling from holding hers. He didn't know what to make of that, either. He would have thought that of all the girls he'd ever known, it would be natural to be immune to Chloe. In a lot of ways, he still thought of her as a little kid. Or, at least, he had before seeing her in that dress. It was almost impossible not to be aware of her as a woman after that.

The strange feeling in his stomach was like a warning. Suddenly he became aware that his concern for Chloe might be because of more than just their connection as childhood friends.


	5. Chapter 4

--4--

"Ollie?"

"Chloe! Hey! Good to hear your voice," Oliver said into his cell phone. He glanced at the screen. "Is this a number I can save for you?" he asked.

"Um, no actually. I'm calling from a phone booth."

"You are?" he frowned. "Are you all right?"

"Oh yeah," she said hurriedly. "I was just out and I remembered I had to call you, and my battery was almost dead, but I wanted to call before I forgot."

"Still want to do coffee tomorrow?" he asked, accepting her explanation for what it was worth: absolutely zilch.

There was slight hesitation before she answered. "Yes, I think that would be nice. Lex actually has a big board meeting tomorrow morning, so I have nothing to do. Coffee would be nice."

He felt the corners of his lips pulling into a smile at the thought of seeing her again. "Great. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No!" she said a little to fervently. Then she caught herself. "No, I'll meet you somewhere."

Oliver didn't say anything for a moment, then he sighed. "Your fiance has no idea you're going to see me, does he?"

She didn't answer right away and he could almost picture her chewing on her bottom lip. "No," she said finally.

"Can I ask why not?"

"He...well, Lex is a little protective. I can do what I want, but I think it might bother him that I'm going to see another man alone. Of course, I know that it's just you and there's nothing to worry about. I'm just not sure I could convince him of that."

Oliver told the voice in the back of his head that was offended to shut up. Who cared if she thought of him as 'just Oliver.' He _wanted_ her to not think of him as a threat. That was good, he told himself, feeling pathetic all the while.

"Ollie?"

"Sorry," he snapped back. "Well, you can do what you want. But just for the record, it wasn't me who told you to keep it from him," he said.

"Of course not. I learned a while ago with Lex that there are just certain ways to handle certain things. There's no need to upset him unnecessarily."

Whatever you say, Chloe, he thought warily. He didn't like her inability to admit to herself that Lex clearly had too much control over her life.

* * *

The next morning Oliver struggled not to give an outlet to his impatience. He checked his watch yet again.

She was late.

His phone rang. He looked at the screen to find an untraceable number. He prayed she wasn't canceling.

"Chloe?" he asked hopefully, answering the phone.

"Hi, Ollie, I'm so sorry I'm running late," he heard her voice answer. "But I'll be there in just a couple minutes; I promise."

He shrugged even though she couldn't see him. "Don't worry about it. I only just got here myself," he lied. "Just get here when you get here."

"Thanks, Ollie. Sorry again."

"No big deal. See you in a little while, Chlo."

She hung up.

An unlisted number, huh? He looked at the call history. He found that very odd. Why was she so determined for him not to get her number?

Then he realized it wasn't him. For some reason, he suspected, Chloe didn't want _anyone_ to have her phone number.

He lost himself in mulling that over and didn't glance up minutes later when the bell on the door rang, announcing another customer's entrance.

With a start he realized she was standing right in front of him. He smirked. "You're wearing my color again," he noted.

She rolled her eyes but grinned nonetheless. "Who said you have claim over the color? I look good in green. Maybe Lex thinks so, too."

He stood up to give her a hug. "Yeah," he said in her ear, "but you're not seeing Lex this morning, are you?" He drew back and saw with satisfaction that her cheeks had turned pink. He pulled out her chair for her before sitting back down himself.

After a waitress had taken their order he turned back to her.

"So how are you on this beautiful morning?" he asked, indicating with sarcastic humor the gloomy, overcast sky outside.

She smiled. "I'm doing all right. Lois and I are going to shop for bridesmaid's dresses this afternoon."

"Which is where your fiance thinks you are now," he ascertained, his theory confirmed when her ears turned red. "Can I ask why this has to be some big secret?"

She looked at the window. "It's like I told you on the phone. I've learned how to handle certain things with Lex."

He frowned at her. "Has it occurred to you that you're going to be doing this for the rest of your life if you're not careful? Running around behind his back, I mean."

Chloe glared at him. "Well, maybe you're right," she said, starting to get up. "I guess I'll see you later, Ollie. This was obviously a bad idea."

She was leaving? What the hell? He stood up quickly to grab her arm and pull her back. "Wait just a second," he demanded irritably.

He was a little clumsy about it, though, and to his intense discomfort, he pulled her a little too strongly, almost causing her to fall. Her hands flew to his chest, catching herself.

Hello, gorgeous, he thought involuntarily, before releasing her wrists. "Sorry," he stammered awkwardly. "I mean, I'll drop it. You can 'handle' your fiance however you want."

She sighed, sitting back down. "No, you're right in a way. There's got to be a better way to go about it, but it's like I've told you. Lex is overprotective. He doesn't always see clearly when it comes to me, and I hate confrontation, so I've started avoiding arguments when I can help it. That's all." She fiddled with her fork.

Oliver studied her intently. She seemed to have put in place a very guarded expression. He could tell she was thinking about something other than what she was saying, he just didn't know what.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly, looking up at him as the waitress brought their order. She picked at a corner of her chocolate chip muffin with her fingers.

"Anything."

"What made you do it?'

"Do what?" he frowned.

"The hero thing," she said quietly. She was looking at him carefully, eyes delving into his.

He swallowed tightly. "I guess there were a lot of factors leading up to it. Part of it was coming to terms with my past. You were there. You know how hard losing my parents was for me."

Her expression flickered to one of deep sadness.

"And I assume you heard about my marvelous shipwreck experience?"

She nodded.

"Well, it was a little bit after that that I realized I was becoming someone I didn't want to be, and I wanted to make more of a difference in the world. It's a lot harder to help people than some people think. Having all the money in the world doesn't necessarily mean you can spend it any way you want, and you don't always know for sure where it's going to go. Besides, money won't stop crime. Motivate it, maybe, but it won't stop it."

She didn't respond, just watched him.

"What are you thinking?" he asked at length, several minutes having passed.

She sighed, leaning back in her chair and taking a sip of coffee. "I guess I've been dying to ask you that question for a while now. And I've been wanting to know how you were really doing for even longer. The media paints such different portraits of you."

He looked at her sheepishly, knowing exactly what she must be thinking of, and knowing further that it wasn't very flattering.

"I worried about you," she confessed suddenly.

He looked up, raising an eyebrow.

She blushed. "I mean, of course I would have worried a little bit anyway, but I meant particularly when that ship sank."

"The papers declared me dead," he pointed out, confused.

She rolled her eyes. "I figured I was just in denial at the time, but for whatever reason I just didn't buy it."

He grinned at her. "That's sweet," he told her.

She laughed at herself. "It sounds ridiculous out loud," she said.

He shook his head. "It doesn't." He looked hard at her for a moment and then with a frustrated sigh he steeled himself and asked. "Chloe," he said, leaning forward, "are you sure you're happy? I feel like there's something you're not telling me."

She paused with her coffee cup in the air and set it back down again, not looking at him. "I'm fine, Ollie."

"Chlo--"

"Fine," she repeated more seriously.

He thought about letting it go, at least for the moment, but somehow he just couldn't. "No you're not," he said finally. "You're trying to convince yourself that you're fine, but something's definitely wrong. Tell me."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Oliver. I can't. But trust me, you've got nothing to worry about. I can handle it." She started to fish in her purse and he realized she was getting her wallet ready.

"I've got it," he told her, reaching over to stop her, taking her hand away from the purse.

She watched their hands, not looking him in the eyes. "Thanks." She stood then, drawing her hand away from his.

He rose as well, not wanting her to go, but knowing he couldn't make her stay.

"We should get together again," he told her, wishing she'd look at him.

She didn't say anything at first, then started slowly, "I don't know if--"

She stopped. Her phone was ringing. She answered it.

"Hello? Oh, hi, Lois. No I'm on thirty-fourth. Why? I had...I was meeting a friend. No, I'll tell you about it la--what? Oh, no, Lois. Don't bother. We--" She broke off and rolled her eyes.

"What?" he asked, confused.

Looking at the ceiling for help, she answered simply, "My cousin is coming."

"Lois?"

She nodded. "Apparently she was in the area."

"I met her once, right? I think...at a birthday thing for you or something?"

She nodded again.

"Wait, wasn't she the one that shoved that one kid's face in the cake because he took the flavor of ice cream you wanted?"

Chloe laughed. "That's the one."

"Great. Okay, how do I look? I'd better make a good impression if I don't want cake up my nose..."

She giggled. "You don't have to stay. I know we were just leaving, so--"

"Nah. I'd love to meet Lois...again. You guys are really close, right?"

"Mmhmm. We're practically sisters."

They sat down again to wait. "So what is Lois up to these days? I think you said she was a reporter, right?"

"Yeah, I somehow got her interested in it a couple of years ago, and lo and behold, she's working at the Daily Planet and trying to ignore the fact that she and my high school crush are secretly in love with each other." She grinned, something evidently very amusing to her.

"That right?" he asked.

"Yep," she confirmed, smiling.

The bell over the door chimed and they looked up. Oliver swallowed. Chloe's cousin was gorgeous and had a take-no-prisoners kind of aura surrounding her. She looked around and spotted Chloe before her eyes fell on Oliver in surprise. She walked over to them.

"Hey, Chlo," she grinned, hugging her cousin as they both stood up. "What's up?"

"Not a lot. Oliver, this is my cousin, Lois Lane. Lois, Oliver Queen."

Lois grinned. "I'd recognize that mug anywhere. How come you didn't tell me you were friends with him?" she chided Chloe. "Listen," she turned back to Oliver. "I've been dying to ask you some questions about the foundation you set up in Star City--"

"Lois!" Chloe scolded. "Tape recorder _off._ How many times do we have to go through this?"

Lois looked unashamed, adding another chair to their table and sitting down. "Sorry," she shrugged. "I thought that rule only applied to ol' cue ball."

Chloe rolled her eyes and Oliver fought not to laugh. He liked Lois immediately. Apparently they shared the bleak opinion on Chloe's romantic life.

"It applies to _all_ our immediate friends and family, Lo."

"Right, right, fine. But you'll let me set up an interview, won't you?" she asked Oliver confidently. "I work for the Daily Planet, and it would be a great favor. Besides, you could use the spotlight on your charity foundation. You haven't exactly been getting much press lately," she pointed out. "Good for the industry," she tempted him.

Oliver chuckled. "Sounds fine to me. Chloe, you should have Lex hire Lois for your PR rep. I bet she'd do a great job."

Chloe grinned mildly and Lois beamed at him but added, "Not that anyone can do much to convince the world that marrying Luthor is a good idea."

"Lois!" Chloe said, shocked.

She shrugged. "Sorry. It's just true."

Chloe laughed humorlessly. "I'd like to remind you that I'm the one the press has a problem with, not Lex."

"Yeah, yeah. That's just because they've gotten so used to being bribed into saying good things about him."

Chloe gave her cousin a shocked look. "Oh, Lois," she groaned, shaking her head.

"What?"

"It's one thing to say that stuff when no one else is around." She glanced at Oliver pointedly.

Lois had the decency to look a bit ashamed. "Sorry." She turned to Oliver, "You," she commanded, "forget you heard anything. I love Lex. I think he's amazing. He and Chloe are the perfect couple. It's a fairy tale. It's--"

"Okay, okay!" Oliver laughed, cutting her short. "I get it!"

"Lois and Lex don't really get along, like I said," Chloe explained again. "But really, they like each other."

Lois rolled her eyes when Chloe wasn't looking and gagged. Oliver winked at her, intimating that he understood.

"Well," he said, checking his watch. "I'll leave the two of you to your own devices," he joked. "Though I may regret it. So we'll see each other again?" he added to Chloe.

She hesitated but then nodded at last. He felt relief wash over him and tried not to notice the approving look that Lois was giving. He knew the moment he was out of earshot, Chloe's cousin was going to start grilling her about him.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Comment: I realized I haven't been "talking" a lot about this story. It's probably because I've been so in the zone writing it. I just want to say how much I enjoy reading the reviews. They are my addiction. :) The response to a Chloe/Lex relationship was probably the most surprising for me. It's a fan ship that never really occurred to me when watching the show, and I only wrote about it because of the prompt (mentioned in prologue), but I have come to discover there is quite a following. Always glad to take a fresh look at things.**

**Anyway, carry on.**

**B.S.S.**

* * *

--5--

A week later she called him again. This time from yet another unknown number. He wondered why she never seemed to call him from the same place.

Suddenly he was seized with the sneaking suspicion that Luthor had her phone calls monitored...and Chloe must know it. He couldn't be sure, of course, but it was a definite possibility.

"Hi, Chloe."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Everyone else who calls me is listed in my phone, so it was either you or a wrong number."

She laughed. "Right, well, glad there's a system of some sort."

"Is something wrong with your phone?" he asked.

"Um, no. I've been racking up the minutes lately, so I've been trying to avoid using that."

"A problem that will undoubtedly go away when you marry the billionaire," he replied, wanting to see her reaction.

She just laughed again. "Yes I suppose it probably will, but until then..." she trailed off.

"You're on your own," he finished for her, not believing her for a minute. He wondered if he could get Victor, who, aside from being a cyborg, was a computer hacking genius, to find out whether Chloe's phone lines were being watched, but it would probably be difficult without actually having her cell. He dismissed the thought for another time. "So what are you up to?" he asked.

"I need an escort," she said, her tone changing.

He grinned widely. "For what?"

"A doctor's appointment."

The grin slipped off his face.

"Why can't your fiance take you?" he asked, trying to keep the sourness in his voice to a minimum.

She sighed wearily. "Because he doesn't know."

"Why not?" he asked warily.

"I don't want him to?" she suggested vaguely.

"Right," he gave a huff of breath, scratching his head. He had a feeling he should question this more deeply, or that he should ask why she even needed someone to go with her. He felt that it would be more than prudent to ask why she was trying to keep this from Luthor, or, more importantly, that he ought to ask why she needed to see a doctor at all.

But he didn't.

"What time do you want me to meet you?"

"I'll pick you up in twenty minutes," she replied, and he could hear the relief in her voice.

And the plot thickens, he thought to himself after she hung up.

Something very bizarre was going on.

* * *

"Hi, Ollie," Chloe said, standing in his doorway, her hair dripping a little from the rain outside.

"So where does Lex think you are today?" he asked good-naturedly, wanting to keep things light.

"Looking at cakes."

"When do you plan to actually look at cakes?"

"After the doctor's appointment," she said winking as he held the door to the building open for her.

"I take it that means I'm coming along for that, too," he said, amused.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes sparkling, and nodded.

He realized she was getting in her own car, and he pulled her back. "Woah, woah, woah. Hold up."

"What?" she asked, confused.

"If I'm doing you ambiguous favors for ambiguous reasons, then we're taking my car," he said, steering her the other way.

"But--"

"My car."

She rolled her eyes. "Men."

"You got it."

Once he was behind the wheel, he caved in and asked the questions at the top of his very long mental list.

"So what kind of doctor are you seeing?"

"A specialist."

"A specialist for what?"

She grinned mysteriously. "It's a secret."

His eyebrow lowered in confusion. "Okay..." he said slowly. "Fair enough." Something suddenly occurred to him. "Oh, God! Are you pregnant?"

She stared at him like he was insane. "No!"

"Oh thank God," he breathed a sigh of relief.

She glared at him.

"Not, of course, that that would be bad," he said in a rush.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling at his expense.

"So can I ask why Luth--Lex can't take you?"

"He's busy," she said shortly.

"Right," he said, once again knowing that she was hiding something. He didn't press the matter. "So why me?"

"Because Lois doesn't need to spaz out about my going to the doctor. She, unlike you, will not believe me when I tell her I'm not pregnant. And anyway, she has work today. I wanted company for the cake shopping, and I'm going there straight after the doctor, so I decided I'd call you."

He beamed. "You missed me."

"I needed a second opinion!" she insisted.

"You _missed _me," he sang.

"I did not!"

"You missed me. Admit it," he demanded.

She laughed. "Fine! I admit it! I missed you! Happy?"

He grinned at her. "Ecstatic." Without really thinking about it, he reached over and grabbed her hand, playing with her fingers absent-mindedly until she abruptly spoke up again.

"Oh it's right here on the left," she pointed.

He frowned but turned in anyway. "Dr. Emil Hamilton," he read off the small plaque beside the door. "Dr. Hamilton? What are you seeing him about?" he asked, shocked.

"You--you know him?" Chloe asked nervously.

Oliver nodded. "Uh yeah. He works for me."

Chloe looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. "Just, don't worry about it, okay Oliver? Promise me. I'm not in any kind of trouble. I just need a little help with something. You can wait in the car if you want," she added. "I shouldn't be more than ten minutes." She was already climbing out of the car.

" 'kay," he said, voice higher pitched than normal, watching her jog into the building.

What on earth was going on? Emil Hamilton...he was one of the world's leading scientists (and probably the least known). He dealt with mutations and the extraterrestrial and absolutely nothing Oliver could think of that would involve Chloe. Why had she found him of all people? And furthermore, why would Hamilton even agree to see her? If Luthor wasn't involved, there was no way it was money. Something insane had to be going on.

Ten minutes later Chloe reappeared and his head had become dizzy with all the unanswered questions surrounding her.

He opened his mouth to give way to them, but nothing came out.

She looked at him cautiously. "Ollie," she said slowly. "Promise me you won't look into this. Please just take my word for it. I have things under control. I promise."

"Chloe, you know I can't just--"

"You have to," she said firmly. "Promise me. Promise me that you won't worry about me. I wouldn't have brought you here if I thought--" she stopped, not sure how to go on.

Oliver didn't know what to say. He knew he couldn't promise her that. He wanted madly to march right into Hamilton's office and demand to know what was going on. And of course he was worried. Her having anything to do with this guy meant that she was involved in things that no person should ever be involved in. But in spite of all that, he nodded his head slowly.

And let it go.

"So," he said with great effort. "Where to next, Miss Sullivan? You've got a chauffeur for the afternoon. Where am I taking you?"

She smiled softly at him. "Thank you."

"Where are we going, Chloe? Before I lose my mind, please."

She sighed, giving him directions to the bakery.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Comment: This chapter was such fun to write...and potentially inspired by the FABULOUS chocolate cake I baked last week. Seriously. Most amazing cake ever. I will probably never be able to repeat that miracle even if I try.**

**B.S.S.**

* * *

--6--

It was strangely--even unnervingly--easy to forget the trouble Chloe was evidently in as Oliver watched her that afternoon. She was so carefree and lighthearted and so like the little girl he'd known growing up.

"No!" she said stubbornly.

"Try it," he told her, waving the fork in front of her face.

"I have never liked anything banana flavored nor will I ever like anything banana flavored.," she said, turning her nose up at the banana cake he was offering.

"Try it," he repeated, smirking. "Just because you didn't like it when you were three doesn't mean you won't like it now."

"Mm-mm," she said, turning her mouth away when he brought the fork closer.

"It's really good," he said. "Come on. One bite."

She rolled her eyes. "If I take a bite will you shut up?"

He nodded, pressing his lips together in an attempt to stifle laughter. Chloe snatched the fork impatiently from his hand and with no further prelude, shoved the bite in her mouth, distorting her face in disgust. Then she actually chewed, her expression fading a bit.

"Well?" he prompted.

She swallowed. "It was...fine."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "You loved it."

"I said it was fine!" she protested.

"You loved it, didn't you?" he smirked.

She heaved a dramatic sigh and stabbed another bite of the cake indelicately. She closed her eyes as she ate it. "Okay. You were right. That's _really_ good."

"I told you."

She opened an eye to look at him. "You are such a child. But anyway, I'm not having a banana cake at my wedding. That would be absurd."

"You could have one layer of banana cake and the rest could be something else," he pointed out.

"No. I want something simple. Like chocolate. Or vanilla."

"Or red velvet?" he suggested.

She gave an exasperated laugh. "You never give up, do you?"

He shook his head.

"Why don't I do a marbled cake? Is that exciting enough for you?"

He shrugged. "Hardly. But it's your wedding."

"I'm so glad you're still aware of that," she said sarcastically. "Now would you mind actually helping me with what I asked in the first place? I wasn't concerned about flavors, just the style."

He sighed amusedly. "If we must."

"Thank you," she said, pulling the book back in front of them. "And no more samples," she added to him, noticing his eye wandering back over to the case.

"You are just no fun at all, you know that?" he mocked.

"And you are such a distraction!" she accused. "Now what do you think of this one?"

"It's terrible. I hate it," he said, barely glancing at the picture in the book.

She rolled her eyes. "You didn't even look at it!"

"What's the theme or whatever for this wedding of yours anyway?"

"It doesn't really have a theme," she said thoughtfully. "Just...what suits _us_."

Did they have a cake that looked like it was made of sunshine on one side and dripping in blood on the other? he wondered. Probably not. "Well you're very elegant in my mind. So I don't like that one because it's too trendy and modern looking," he said.

She turned pink, but carried on as though she weren't flattered. "See now, _that_ actually helps." She flipped through a couple more pages before stopping again. "What about this one?"

He vocalized his distaste. "Ugh! No way! Too frilly. Here," he took the book from her hands, ignoring her protests. He flipped several pages before finding something simple and modest, but still very attractive. It had light pink flowers drawn in icing around the base of each layer, and it had lace and a little butterfly ornament thing on top. It seemed to suit her...not that he was really one to pick out stuff like this. "Here," he said, turning the book to show her. "I like that one."

A little crease formed between her eyebrows and she chewed on her lip, studying the photo. "That's...really pretty. I like that. I'd have to have yellow flowers instead of course...to match the color scheme but..." she tilted her head. "I really like it." She looked up at him in surprise. "Good job."

He narrowed his eyes, smirking. "You say all that like you were expecting me to be no help whatsoever."

"That's because I _was_ expecting you to be no help whatsoever," she teased, taking the book to go talk to the woman behind the counter.

He leaned back in his chair, listening to her talk.

"Oh, I love that one," said the woman. "Did your fiance pick it out?" she asked, glancing at Oliver, who strategically looked out the window.

"Oh, no!" Chloe said, and he could hear the embarrassment in her voice. "Ollie's not my--I mean, he's just my friend. My fiance couldn't be here this morning, so Ollie's standing in."

"Ooh, honey! You sure you picked the right one?" she laughed, teasing Chloe. Oliver tried not to look too pleased with himself. Silently he thanked the woman.

"Oh trust me," Chloe responded, and Oliver had to force himself not to turn around and look at her facial expression, but he could almost picture her twisting her ring absentmindedly as she spoke. "I did. But Ollie's a great guy, just not the guy for me."

"I'll take him," the woman joked in response.

When Chloe came back to Oliver her smile faded slightly. "What's the matter?" she asked.

He raised his eyebrows in innocent confusion.

"Huh. Never mind. You looked very...far away for a moment there," she said with a shrug.

"Get the cake all squared away?" he asked her, standing up and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Uh huh," she said, beaming smile returning instantly. "I think the one you found is just perfect."

He gave her half a smile. "So," he said, energy returning. "Can I take you to a late lunch?"

She laughed. "You just stuffed yourself with cake!"

"So?"

She shook her head, chuckling. Then she grabbed his wrist to his surprise and looked at his watch. "Sure, why not?" she said. "But let's make it quick. I should really be getting back soon."

She lightheartedly slipped her hand in the crook of Oliver's elbow, indicating for him to lead her away, and Oliver hated how right it felt. He also hated the fact that she was apparently oblivious to how right it felt. 'A great guy, just not the guy for her?" He wanted to demand to know exactly what was wrong with him, but he held his tongue.

When they were sitting down in a restaurant, though, and they'd already placed their orders, he found he couldn't resist one question that had been plaguing him since he'd seen her with Luthor at the reunion.

"Chloe?" he said, leaning forward and looking her directly in the eyes, "Don't fly off the handle at this question because I'm just honestly curious. What exactly do you see in Lex Luthor?"

Chloe sighed, smoothing the napkin in her lap before answering.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Comment: My first attempt to really see into the mind of a "Chlex" shipper. I hope I've done it justice, but for those who are fans, please just bare in mind that this is a Chlollie fic, and yes, Lex Luthor is, in fact, a villain.**

**Thank you again for reviewing. It makes me smile**

**B.S.S.**

* * *

--7--

Chloe looked away from Oliver dreamily, which bothered him immensely.

"I guess...well, it's a little hard to describe. Lex, he's a complex man, really. I told you I met him because Clark saved his life and the two of them became friends?" She glanced at him, apparently waiting for confirmation.

He nodded.

"Well, it's amazing how well Lex treated Clark. He was so determined to pay back the favor, even though he knew he couldn't. Lex actually bought him a car. I guess that wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it wasn't just some rich guy wanting to pay off a debt. He actually became one of Clark's best friends. It's a shame the two of them have drifted apart since then, but anyway that's why I eventually got to know him pretty well. He helped me out a couple of times when he really didn't have any obligation. He has this incredibly selfless side. It's amazing." She paused for a moment. "Lex has been through a lot. I know the media paints him in a really negative way sometimes, but the they rarely see the real person. What no one seems to realize is the number of personal demons he's battled in his life and the ones he's _still _battling." She looked down, for a moment, lashes brushing against her cheeks as she blushed. "And I guess, as far as what I 'see' in him goes, you had to be there when I was growing up in Smallville," she turned plaintive eyes on him, willing him to understand. "I chose all the wrong men and all the wrong men chose me. I was in love with the same guy for years and he never looked twice at me, not in that way. All the men who were attracted to me...well, they were very troubled people; let's leave it at that. After a decade or so of rejection and starting to feel like something must be horribly wrong with me to make my romantic life so ghastly, having someone like Lex just come along and sweep me off my feet...it was a little too good to be true." She shook her head, looking down again.

For Oliver, puzzle pieces numbers one and two finally clicked into place.

First of all, either Chloe didn't realize how bad Lex was, in favor of remembering him before he'd strayed from the slightly crooked path to the dramatically twisting and winding one, or she was purposefully choosing not to see it.

Second, Chloe had fallen for Lex because for whatever reason, he'd been the first man to come along and actually offer her a relationship. 'A decade or so of rejection.' It made Oliver's stomach churn to think of Chloe being the unrequited lover. Chloe had grabbed onto the first offer she'd gotten, and she'd clung to it for dear life.

He wondered vaguely what kind of idiot would be oblivious to Chloe being in love with him, or worse, what kind of idiot knew and didn't care?

"God, I'm such a sap," Chloe said, obviously flustered, dabbing the corner of her eye with her napkin. "I don't know. I'm with Lex because I see the good in him. He told me when he proposed that I make him want to be a better person." She looked out the window, blushing bright red. "I've never mentioned that to anyone before."

Oliver was at a loss for words.

There was nothing..._nothing_ about this that was healthy.

"Chloe..." he started, not sure what he was going to say. She turned to him, eyebrows up, her cheeks still flushed. He sighed in defeat. "I'm glad you're happy." Except that she wasn't. She was blind, a little delusional, and potentially very insecure, but she was definitely not happy. What was he supposed to say, though? He couldn't very well tell her that he'd pinned several murders on Luthor but had never been able to get sufficient evidence, forget the fact that Luthor had about a half a dozen illegal operations going on that quite literally had the Green Arrow, Aquaman, Impulse, and Cyborg dizzy with the effort of chasing them down and _shutting_ them down.

There was just no telling that to the blushing girl in front of him.

He wasn't entirely sure she'd believe him either.

"Thanks," Chloe replied simply.

He sighed, stabbing his fork idly at the food that had been placed before them, no longer hungry.

"You shouldn't have had all that cake," she said in an amused tone.

"Yeah, yeah," he said in exasperation.

What was he going to do with her? He couldn't just let her marry Luthor, not if he even remotely cared about her.

"Thanks for being my adult supervision today," she added, laughing lightly. "This was a much easier day with a friend along for the ride."

He nodded, smiling. "Hey, anything for you, Chlo," he said.

Her phone indicated a text message and she glanced at it. She groaned quietly. "Lex is wondering where I am."

Oliver didn't say anything as she turned the volume on her phone off without responding to her fiance, putting it back in her purse.

"I'll call him later," she said, almost to herself.

"You can call now if you want," Oliver forced himself to say.

"I don't want to. Lex has gotten overprotective lately. He needs to relax a little."

"What do you mean by overprotective?"

She chuckled. "Oh, just that he worries about me too much. Just because I stay somewhere longer than I planned to doesn't mean that I've been kidnapped or something like that."

Oliver raised an eyebrow, hating to admit that if he were Chloe's fiance he'd probably spend just as much time worrying.

"He means well," she added. "Like I said, he just needs to loosen up a little."

"Whatever you say, Chlo."

* * *

That evening Oliver decided to handle the Chloe issue one item at a time. He had to find out whether or not Chloe were really aware of what she was getting herself into, a rather difficult ambition to achieve without invading her privacy.

So first, he called up Victor.

"Hey, boss. What's up?"

"I need a personal favor, Vic. Do you have some spare time?"

"Probably. What's the favor?"

Oliver heaved a sigh. "I don't suppose you can figure out if someone's cell phone has been bugged for me?"

He could hear the frown in Victor's voice. "Well duh I can. What's the catch?"

"I don't have the phone."

"Well duh I can't. Why don't you have the phone?"

"It doesn't belong to me?" he presented sheepishly.

"And who does it belong to? Perhaps a certain blonde girl our fearless leader has been obsessing over recently?"

Oliver hung his head shamefully. "Perhaps."

Victor laughed. "So you think Lex has got her bugged, huh?"

"Potentially."

"Well, boss-man, your instincts haven't failed you."

"What?"

"I had a feeling a request along these lines was going to come up soon, so I'm one step ahead of you."

"What do you mean?" Oliver frowned, sitting down on his couch.

"Well, I admit I was a little curious about Chloe, too. I actually met a couple of friends of hers a few years back after I had my little 'accident', so I had some personal incentive, I guess. Clark Kent speaks pretty highly of Miss Sullivan."

"Uh huh?" Oliver said, totally confused about where Victor was going with this and who he was talking about.

"So anyway, I hacked into the security system for the Luthor Mansion in Smallville _and _for their penthouse in town. Turns out Big Brother is definitely watching. He's got cameras in all of Chloe's private rooms, in spite of the fact that she doesn't keep any valuables. That, of course could be excused for the purpose of her safety, right?"

"Right," Oliver responded slowly.

"But he can't excuse the fact that they were set up in her Dad's place, too. Definitely without her knowledge.

"You've got to be kidding."

"It gets better. Every land line has been tapped. And after doing a scan of the whole place, I'm positive I picked up on radio frequencies in her bedroom at both of his places."

"Meaning?"

"Sound bugs. So taking all of that into consideration, it's really not too far of a leap to think there are some in her cell phone, too." He sounded impressed and disgusted at the same time.

Oliver couldn't believe it. It was like Chloe was under a microscope at all times.

"So what made you suspicious?" Victor asked curiously.

"She never uses her cell to call me. She calls from phone booths and God knows where else. She refused point blank to give me her number."

"But...wait. Wouldn't that mean--"

"She knows," Oliver finished. "At least, to some extent she must know. It also explains why she hasn't let me pick her up for anything if she's aware of all the cameras. She clearly doesn't want Luthor to know how much contact she's had with me."

"But if she knows, then..." Victor struggled to finish the sentence, completely bewildered.

Oliver knew what he was trying to say, though. If Chloe knew, then why was she turning a blind eye?


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Comment: Can I just say that it's getting more and more difficult not to switch over to Chloe's point of view? I know some people would probably love it if I did that, but I'm determined to resist. Must. Be. Strong.**

**gah**

**....**

**Right, proceed with your normal life now.**

**B.S.S.**

--8--

* * *

One week later Oliver collapsed on the couch of his apartment in exhaustion, throwing aside his sunglasses and tossing back the hood of the Green Arrow suit.

Blasted guard dogs.

Oliver liked dogs, generally speaking. He liked them a lot. He just didn't like angry brainwashed beasts when he wasn't expecting them.

He gingerly removed the torn and stained glove on his left hand and swore when he saw the depth of the bite wound there. Fantastic. He dropped his head to the back of the couch, wondering what time it was and whether or not he would have time to both clean the wound and get some sleep before he had to be in the office. He glanced at his arm and prayed that long sleeves would be sufficient to hide the wound. There would simply be no explaining that to the board of directors.

He wondered vaguely how much blood he'd lost. Fortunately he'd been the only one to get seriously injured. He'd managed to hold the dogs off while the others infiltrated the latest in a series of drug factories carefully disassociated with Luthorcorp (which meant, naturally, that Luthorcorp _owned_ them).

He nearly jumped out of his skin when someone buzzed to be let in. He glanced at a the clock. It was three in the morning. He assumed at first it must be one of the team, but then a female voice came over the intercom.

"Ollie?" came her distraught voice

Chloe? He frowned. His instinct with visitors would be to immediately hide all things Green Arrow, but he knew that in this case there was simply no point. He dragged his weary bones from the couch and over to the lift to let her up.

As the elevator rose he started washing some of the blood from his arm, knowing she'd have a fit when she saw it.

The lift opened and the breathing enigma that was Chloe, hair dripping from the rain outside, entered his apartment. He irritably brushed off the fact that his heart missed a beat at the sight of her. He'd officially acknowledged that he had feelings for her and then carefully shoved them into a deep, dark corner of his world, the better to ignore them.

"Oh my god, Ollie!" Chloe rushed over to him upon sighting his mangled arm. "What happened?" she asked, tenderly pulling his arm over to better light in order to examine it.

"Guard dogs. On steroids," he said through gritted teeth while her fingers nimbly explored his arm, apparently making certain that nothing was broken.

"You'll live," she said with a sigh, "but please tell me you were going to do something other than rinse it with water," she said, looking at him in exasperation.

He shrugged. "Other than carefully hide it from my secretary tomorrow morning?"

She rolled her eyes. "You are ridiculous. Go sit down."

He obeyed, feeling like a child as she rushed into his bathroom to find his unused first aid supplies. She got a bowl from the kitchen and brought everything over to him, then kneeled down in front of him and delicately pulled his arm out over the coffee table, setting the bowl beneath it.

"Chloe, seriously, this isn't necessary," he said.

She looked sharply at him. "Do you really think the owner of those guard dogs bothered to update their rabies shots?" she asked sarcastically.

He shifted uncomfortably under her concerned gaze.

"That's what I thought," she said. "Okay, look, I'm really sorry to do this," she pulled a bottle out of the first aid kit, "because it's definitely going to scar, but it's all you have."

"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously as she twisted off the lid.

"We've got to pour hydrogen peroxide over it to sterilize it," she explained.

"What?" he stared at the bottle. "Hang on a second--"

"This is going to sting really badly," she warned apologetically, grabbing the hand of his injured arm before he could protest and holding it in place over the bowl.

Oliver gritted his teeth in pain, determined not to make a sound as she poured the burning liquid over the wound. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until she stopped and he gasped unintentionally. "Holy--" he choked off, not sure there was a swear word dark enough. He'd rather take the dogs on again than have her do that one more time.

She gave him a pitying look. "I'm really sorry."

Before he could say anything in return (probably for the best, seeing as he was unsure as to whether he was going to brush it off or cuss her out) she turned back to the supplies she'd brought and pulled out a large bottle of some sort of vaseline as well as some gauze. She layered the gauze on, pressing down firmly to bring the bleeding to a halt, no letting up for a good minute.

"With any luck, this will prevent the scarring, but there's no guarantee," she said in reference to the bottle of ointment after peeling the gauze away carefully. "Anyway it will ease the pain." She started dabbing it on the wound lightly before adding, "Ollie, you're cutting off the circulation in my fingers."

With a start he realized he'd been gripping her hand until his knuckles turned white. he loosened his hold.

"Thank you," she said, smiling lightly.

He tried not to wince as she applied more of the vaseline-stuff as gently as possible.

"Where were you that you ran into guard dogs?" she asked, her concentration never wavering from the task at hand.

He deliberated how much of the truth to tell her. He didn't have proof the labs were owned by Luthor, and he didn't want to look like he was throwing out ungrounded accusations. "The team and I--" he paused, waiting to see her reaction to the word 'team.' He received none, meaning she'd probably already pieced that together as well. "We busted up a lab that was producing some sort of weird drug that caused mutations. Definitely illegal, even if they _weren't_ testing it on unwilling subjects."

Chloe paused to give him a look of horror. _"People?" _she asked.

He nodded.

Chloe shuddered, closing her eyes. After a moment she opened them and returned to tending his injured arm. "Were any of the others hurt?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No."

"Good."

He sat in silence for a while, watching her. Her concentration was unshakable, apparently. When she finished with the ointment she reached around her for more gauze and bandaging tape.

"You should be more careful," she told him unnecessarily. Carefully she layered the gauze over the wound.

He fought back a grimace when she applied pressure again, making certain the bleeding had stopped. "Worried?" he teased lightly, leaning his head back again but never taking his eyes off of her.

Her eyes darted to him and she smirked, slowly but expertly wrapping the tape around his arm now.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" he asked.

She sighed. "You, believe it or not, are not my first encounter with someone in the hero business. You wouldn't believe the number of injuries I attained _and_ tended during my time in Smallville. I'm amazed I'm still in one piece, to be honest," she said, chuckling humorlessly.

He shook his head at her. "You've changed a lot, you know that?"

The corner of her mouth quirked. "I am not the one running around in green leather, Ollie."

"Just because you don't have a costume doesn't mean it's not true," he teased.

She sighed softly. "How have I changed?" she humored him.

"You now know _how_ to take care of yourself. You just don't seem to use the knowledge _for_ yourself."

She laughed quietly. "Said the man bleeding profusely," she pointed out.

"You're still just as snarky and stubborn as when you were little, though," he allowed.

She threw the unused gauze at him.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"You still have a superiority complex, you'll be pleased to know," she told him mockingly.

"Just admit you love it," he said, releasing a huff of air, and closing his eyes tiredly.

"Would I be here if I didn't?" he heard her whisper under her breath. One of his eyebrows shot up, but he didn't open his eyes. The pain had mostly died down now, but there was still a vague throbbing of discomfort as she finished up, cutting the bandage. Jeez, he was tired. He yawned.

She patted his arm. "All better."

"Nope," he said sleepily, smirking.

"Oh?"

"Kiss it," he commanded. "Then it will be better."

He didn't have to open his eyes to know she was rolling hers. "What are you? Four?"

"Potentially," he said, entertained.

Then, to his surprise, he felt a soft pressure on the center of his forearm as she planted her lips there gently. He opened his eyes to look at her.

"There," she said, leaning back on her heels easily. "Now quit griping."

"I was not griping. You volunteered this fine service."

She shook her head at him, smiling nonetheless. "I'm amazed you made it all these years without me."

He grinned at her. "Just remember, I used to be the one taking care of you all the time, _Sidekick_."

"So now we're even," she said, smirking at his address.

"Hardly," he retorted. "Not for another ten years, if memory serves."

"I was only nine," she pointed out. "And neither of us was old enough to take care of the other for at least the first five of those."

"Fine," he said. "You owe me four years then."

"Agreed," she said.

Finally, something occurred to Oliver that should have the moment he realized she was the person wanting to be let into his apartment at three in the morning.

"Wait a second. What on earth are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up with a frown.

* * *

**Author's Comment: Am I the only one who thinks it's simultaneously adorable, pathetic, AND annoying when men are dense like that? Because they really, really are at times.**

**And yet we keep them around. --smiles dreamily--**

**B.S.S.**


	10. Chapter 9

--9--

Oliver sat up now, giving Chloe a once over. "Good God, you're soaked!" He glanced out the window to the storm that had been raging for over a week, kicking himself for not noticing it earlier. He'd been so distracted by the pain. "Come on," he said, pulling her off her knees. "We're getting you dried off."

"Ollie, I'm fine."

"Your lips are turning blue. I'm so sorry. I didn't even notice," he apologized, hating himself for being so self-absorbed as he dragged her into the bathroom. "Here," he started pulling her coat off of her, draping it over the shower rod. He pulled a towel out of the closet and started gently drying her hair off for her. 'Jeez, what did you do? Walk here?"

Chloe didn't answer.

"Chloe," he said seriously.

"I took a cab. Relax," she said with a roll of her eyes, taking the towel from him. "I can do that myself, thanks." He would have thought she was irritated with him if he hadn't seen the corner of her mouth twitch humorously.

"Whatever you say," he told her, taking a step back. He studied her face carefully for the first time that night. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked as though she hadn't slept in days. It might be because of the rain--he couldn't be sure--but it looked like she had been crying. Recently. He realized she had to be freezing and he left her for a moment to get one of his sweatshirts for her.

When he returned she'd folded the towel and set it on the sink. She accepted the sweatshirt, gratefully, zipping it up all the way, laughing at how huge it was on her.

"Chloe, what are you doing here?" he repeated, leading her out of the bathroom and back to the couch. "Do you want some coffee or tea or something?"

She shook her head. She sat down wearily and Oliver was seized with the image of the Greek titan, Atlas, struggling to hold up the world for eternity.

"What's wrong, Chloe?" he asked, sitting down beside her. Chloe leaned tiredly against him and his stomach tightened. Tentatively he wrapped his arms around her. What had happened? Was it something Luthor had done?

"I needed a friend," she said finally.

He rubbed her back soothingly for a few minutes before realizing she didn't intend to say anything else.

"Why?" he said.

Chloe didn't look at him, just buried her forehead in his neck.

"Chloe."

She sighed. "I'm scared."

His heart clenched. "Of what?" Your homicidal fiance? Please say yes.

"You remember I went to see Doctor Emil?"

The memory flooded back to him. Was she finally going to explain what that had been about? It had taken all his willpower to keep his promise to her and not look into it. "Yeah."

She waited a long moment before replying, and Oliver felt something wet hit his skin. He lifted her head up. "Hey," he said frowning, wiping the tear from her cheek. "It's okay. Whatever it is, we'll figure it out, okay?"

She nodded, but more tears welled up in her eyes.

"Chloe, what is it?"

She closed her eyes, unable to look at him. "What do you know about meteor rock?"

"What _kind_ of meteor rock?" he asked darkly, a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"The Smallville kind."

Oliver closed his eyes in horror. Hamilton had filled him in on the special qualities of those rocks. They had suspicions that they were being used in the drug produced by the same lab he'd been to that night. They'd retrieved a small sample for analyzation before destroying the rest. "Chloe, what happened?"

She bit her lip, turning her head away from him. "You might say I've had more than the average amount of exposure to them over the years."

"Oh god," he said slowly, realizing what she must mean.

"Dr. Hamilton says I may have a mutation developing. It's been dormant for years without my knowing it."

"What is it?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

He didn't say anything for a long while. "How did you know something was wrong?"

She bit her lip nervously. "It doesn't happen a lot, but...twice now I've accidentally hurt myself. Nothing serious," she added quickly, "I dropped a hair dryer on my foot and it bruised really badly. And then the other time I was cutting an apple and I sliced my thumb slightly."

He watched her impatiently. "And?" he encouraged, scared of where this might be going."

"I watched the bruise blossom into a dark purple spot almost instantly, and then I watched as it vanished just as quickly. My thumb was bleeding one second and the next second it was perfect, unmarred skin."

In Oliver's mind, he could have seen this going a million times more badly. He actually felt relieved. Healing quickly? That seemed like a blessing more than a curse. But he could tell something else was bothering Chloe. "What else aren't you telling me?" he asked.

She shook her head, a few more unwanted tears escaping.

"Chloe."

"I just--" her voice caught in her throat. "I'm scared. I've encountered dozens of meteor infected people over the years and not one of them didn't end up certifiably insane and almost all of them were homicidal. I don't want to lose my mind," she trailed into a pitiful, quiet wail, burying her face back in his chest.

"Oh, Chloe," Oliver said soothingly. "Hey. That's not going to happen, okay? Not you. You'll be fine."

"Clark says the others turned out like they did because they were already on the brink of sanity as it was but I don't know. I think that stuff does something to your mind."

Oliver forced the image of the 'test subjects' they'd found that evening out of his mind. He squeezed his arms around her more tightly. "Chloe, I'm sure your friend Clark is right. You are not going to end up like that. Whatever's happening, you're going to be fine, okay?" he stroked her hair softly. "It's going to be all right."

Chloe hiccuped in reply.

When she eventually settled down, Oliver had to ask the question he dreaded. "You haven't told Lex about this, have you?"

She shook her head silently.

"And you don't plan to, do you?"

She shook her head a second time.

"Chloe," he began wearily. If she didn't trust him with something like this, how could she marry him?

"Don't, Ollie. I know what you're thinking, but please stop. Lex has had his life threatened by so many of these people. I don't want him to look at me any differently."

"You're going to _marry_ him, Chloe," he ground out.

"I know. I know," he could hear her voice getting more upset with each word. "But I just can't tell him! I can't!"

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, shushing her and trying to calm her again. "It's okay. You can do whatever you want, but promise me you're going to let me help you with this one, all right?"

"Thanks, Ollie," she said quietly.

He wondered to himself what had brought her to him. Why was his door the one she'd chosen to knock on at three in the morning when she was lost and scared?

He kissed the top of her head.

"It's going to be all right."

After yet another long silence, Oliver nudged her slightly. "Chlo, do you need to stay here for tonight?"

She nodded slowly. "Lex is out of town for a conference for a few days. I didn't want to be alone."

"Okay, Sidekick," he said, liking the nickname for her. "Come on. Let's get you to bed. You're exhausted."

She smiled softly. "Thank you, Ollie." She allowed him to pick her up and carry her, too tired to protest. "I haven't slept in days."

"How long have you known?" he asked.

"Dr. Hamilton confirmed it this afternoon. I went to see him again."

"How long have you _known_?" he repeated.

She sighed as he pulled back the blankets on his bed for her. "I don't even know anymore." She gave him a tired, worn look when he laid her down. He started to leave her but she grabbed his hand. "Stay," she pleaded, almost inaudibly.

He wanted to. He knew it was a really bad idea, that he was getting in so far over his head with her that there was no hope he wouldn't drown now. But one look at her told him she needed him. He nodded, climbing into bed beside her and pulling her back against his chest, arms constricting around her.

She gave a great shuddering sigh in response, clearly still on the verge of tears.

He ran his thumb back and forth over the back of her hand. "It's going to be all right, Sidekick. It really is." _Don't marry him. I beg you._

* * *

**Author's Comment: Signs you have a problem: You technically have total control over your characters' fates, and yet you find yourself pitying them for all the hell you put them through.**

**Sorry, characters. I love you.**

**BlueSuedeShoes**

**P.S. No, I don't belong in a padded cell. I just sound like it. ;)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Comment: Just to share my thought process for this chapter, I started writing the morning scene and then I had this horrible realization:**

**Oliver was losing.**

**Clearly, this needed to be solved immediately.**

**BlueSuedeShoes**

* * *

--10--

Oliver was accustomed to a lot of things when it came to women. He couldn't say that waking up in his bed and finding it empty even though there had been a woman there the night before was a first. Though, really, he was usually the one who vanished in the morning.

Waking up in his bed that morning, however, he found himself surprised for the first time in a long time. His eyes were still closed, but he suspected he'd woken because of the dull ache in his arm. Slowly the memories of the previous night seeped back to the front of his brain. He rolled over, expecting to drop an arm around her shoulders, but he found the space empty.

He fumbled around blindly, hand searching for her before finally opening his eyes in surprise.

The place next to him was empty. He dragged himself out of bed and realized suddenly that he'd never changed out of his Green Arrow gear. He grabbed some clothes and threw them on before heading out into his kitchen. There was no sign of her; she'd left without a trace.

No, wait, there was a scrap of paper on the counter.

_Ollie--_

_Thanks for putting up with me last night. I had to get going but didn't want to wake you since you were up so late._

_Chloe_

He crumpled up the note in frustration only to smooth it out again and reread it. Nothing in the context indicated that he'd hear from her any time soon, but somehow he suspected he would. He walked over to his computer and pulled up a calendar. Chloe had said her wedding was on July 23. It was now June 3. He had barely two months--not even--to convince her that marrying Lex Luthor was a mistake.

He had new motivation after the previous night. Finding out that Chloe was undergoing some sort of DNA mutation because of the meteor rocks was cause for more than just concern. From what he and the JL had seen, Luthor was obsessed with meteor rocks and their effects on humans. He had to close his eyes tightly in an attempt to shut out a vision of Chloe as one of Luthor's test subjects. It might be an exaggeration, considering that Luthor appeared to have feelings of some variety for her, but it was still unnerving.

He distracted himself by checking his bandaged arm. He hadn't bled through and they hadn't loosened any. Chloe had done her work well. Well, at least it would be easy to hide now, he thought, rolling the sleeve of his shirt back down over it. He had to get to the office, and he didn't have time to deal with the mystery Chloe provided.

* * *

At the end of a long and exceedingly boring day, Oliver received a call from Bart.

"Hey, boss-man, what up?"

"Not a lot, Bart," Oliver said, loosening his tie as he poured himself a drink.

"I've got news for you."

"What's that?"

"Hang on."

Before Oliver could respond Bart was in his apartment, holding a clipboard of test results in his hand.

"Hamilton sent these over," he said, handing them to Oliver. Bart scrutinized his boss. "You okay, dude?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"You look tense, man."

"It's a long story."

"Involving the elusive mamacita?"

Oliver nodded, scanning the test results, which confirmed the use of meteor rock. "Did Hamilton say what the drug was _supposed_ to do? Clearly it wasn't working, of course."

Bart nodded. "Looks like Luthor is trying to control what kind of mutation takes place."

"What, like bottle superpowers or something?"

"Yep," Bart said, speeding over to Oliver's fridge and returning with a huge sandwich. "Like, flavor one: mind-reading. Flavor two: super-strength. Flavor-three--"

"I get it," Oliver cut his young friend off.

"Can you imagine what would happen if Luthor's scientists figured out how to do it?" Bart said, shoving the sandwich down his throat in about five bites before flicking back to the fridge and returning with a second sandwich.

Oliver repressed a shudder. At best, Luthor would make himself invincible. At worst, he'd make himself filthy rich by putting the liquid super-powers on the market. The consequences after that would be unthinkable.

"Well," he said firmly. "That's exactly why we're shutting this stuff down before it gets out of control."

"What's to stop him from just starting the same project up again elsewhere?" Bart wondered, brushing the crumbs off of his hands.

"Honestly, nothing. But eventually the loss of money has to deter him. Besides that he can't keep having labs explode without anyone noticing, and especially without anyone noticing the connection to him. Someone's got to notice the unexplained cash flow."

Bart nodded. It was a never-ending, unrewarding, almost pointless task, attempting to keep the world safe, but he and the others all understood one thing: any day the world didn't end was a victory. That was the only way to look at it without losing hope.

Oliver sat down wearily, taking a swig of whiskey.

Bart eyed him. "Dude, this babe's really getting to you. She worth it?"

Oliver just looked at him, knowing it was futile to explain a person like Chloe.

"What's her name, anyway?"

"Chloe Sullivan."

Bart looked surprised. "Dude, I know her! Met her a couple years back when I was in the Smallville area. I'm really good friends with a buddy of hers...sort of. But yeah, man. Chloelicious is a hottie."

Oliver looked threateningly at Bart, daring him to say anything even slightly less appropriate.

Bart whistled. "You got it _bad_, huh?"

Oliver groaned. "You have no idea."

Bart scratched the back of his head, and finally said in confusion. "So _do_ something."

Oliver lifted an eyebrow at Bart. "What exactly do you think I've been doing? Sitting around staring at her picture?"

But Bart looked honestly bewildered. "No, but have you told her how you feel?"

Oliver shook his head.

"Kiss her?"

"She's engaged, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but how do you expect to get her un-engaged?"

Oliver could only stare. An annoying voice in the back of his brain seemed to be agreeing with Bart, but it also happened to be the voice he'd been carefully ignoring since discovering he was in love with Chloe. There he'd said it. He was in love with her. ...well, he'd thought it anyway.

Bart smirked. "Oh, amateur."

"I'm more experienced than you, you ten-year-old," Oliver threw back, brain still working out other things.

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who's _pining_."

"I'm not pining. I'm..."

"Pining," Bart finished when Oliver trailed off and failed to find a description for what he was doing. "AC and Vic think so, too," Bart added. "None of us gets why you're doing this the way you are."

"What do you mean?" Oliver frowned at the idea that the whole team had apparently spent in-depth time talking about his personal life.

"Well why not just go in and sweep her off her feet?"

Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it in confusion. Maybe the kid had a point.

It was time to take this on with a different approach.


	12. Chapter 11

--11--

Step one: Contact.

Oliver realized the most leering obstacle he was facing in the Chloe situation was that there was no way to get in contact with her, at least not that she was allowing him. So he needed to figure out a way to get in touch with her at _his_ whim, not hers. That would be the first step to bringing the ball into his court.

Step two: Contact.

The second obstacle was the most pathetic. Oliver, disgusted as he was with himself, had been playing it _safe_, worrying about pushing her away or scaring her off. It was time to actually make her question whether she was with the right man.

He knew somewhere in the back of his head that this whole thing hadn't started out as trying to steal Chloe from Luthor. It had truly, honestly been about protecting her from Luthor. He wondered irritably how he was supposed to know that thinking a nine-year-old who lived next door was cute would end up translating into being in love with the adult version of her. This was so not his fault.

He suddenly had the feeling he was arguing with Chloe in his head, so he stopped himself.

The question remained: how to get in touch with her?

After an entire night of lying awake and mulling over the situation, Oliver determined that he need another personal favor from Victor.

After checking that Luthor was indeed gone on a conference in Edge City for another three days, so there was no chance of him answering the phone, Oliver called up his cyborg teammate.

"Victor?"

"Hey, boss. What's up? Impulse show you those charts Hamilton sent over? Heavy stuff."

"Yeah, he did. I want to meet with everyone tomorrow night. AC says he's noticed some serious dumping going on at a river outside the city. Looks like the waste contains meteor rock. Probably another test site. But that's not why I'm calling."

"Chloe?" Victor guessed, knowing the answer.

"Yeah."

"You ask her why she's staying with a guy who's watching her every move yet?"

"No, I--"

"You _kiss_ her yet?"

Oliver frowned. "She's _engaged_!" he repeated for the second time in twenty-four hours.

"Yeah but how do you expect to fix that?" Victor mocked, sounding exactly like Bart had the night before.

"If you guys don't quit discussing my personal life when I'm not there, I'm going to call all of your mothers and tell them you're all gay."

"Yeah, yeah," Victor chuckled. "Get on with it, then. What's the favor?"

"You know how all the phone lines in the place are tapped?"

"Uh huh."

"Can you un-tap them for, say, an hour?"

Victor was silent for a moment, seeming to go over the possibility in his head. "Probably. I'll give it a shot anyway. Shouldn't be a problem."

"Awesome."

"Aw, is our little man actually going to call the girl he has a crush on? I think I'm getting teary-eyed," Victor teased.

"Dude, shut up and do it."

Victor laughed anyway, but reassured him. "I'm on it."

Two hours later, when he and Victor were sure the line was clear, Oliver picked up the phone. Then he looked around the room. "Okay, I know why Victor is here, but why are you two here again?" he asked Bart and AC.

"Dude, you need us!" Bart said, shoveling potato chips in his mouth.

AC nodded, smirking. "Face it, you need the moral support."

Victor rolled his eyes, chuckling. "I told them you'd just end up throwing them out, but they figured on the off-chance they'd get to eavesdrop, they'd come along anyway."

"I think you should just put her on speaker phone, and the three of us can talk to her _for_ you," AC suggested.

Bart agreed.

"All right," Oliver about growled. "All three of you: out." He pointed to the door of his apartment.

"Embarrassed?" Bart asked, grinning mockingly.

"Hey, I set up the phone line for you," Victor pointed out.

"What do you want, a gold star?" Oliver asked, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Out!"

The three of them shuffled out, grumbling. He waited until the door of the lift shut behind them before dialing the number to the Luthor penthouse.

It rang twice before someone picked up.

"Luthor Residence. Mr. Luthor is away this week. Can I take a message for you?" asked Chloe in a bored voice, her mind clearly elsewhere.

"Hey, Chloe," Oliver said, the corner of his mouth pulling into a smirk.

He heard her nearly drop the phone in shock. There was some fumbling before it apparently returned to her ear.

He cut her off before she could say anything awkward. "Relax, I had someone temporarily lift the tap in the phone. No one's recording this, promise."

There was a long pause. "How did y--"

"Put the pieces together," he interrupted. "You give me so little credit," he teased.

"Well, why are you calling?" she asked.

"First of all, I thought I'd ask _why_ your phone line is tapped," he said flatly.

"Next question."

"Don't have any," he said, leaning back casually on the couch.

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"Wait...you went to the trouble of temporarily rewiring my phone line and that's all you had to say?"

"Pretty much."

"Well...okay. Goodbye, then?" she faltered, confused.

"Well, don't hang up!" he rolled his eyes.

"You said--"

"I said I didn't have anything else to ask you. Can't I just call to see how you're doing?" he asked.

He could actually _see_ the frown on her face vividly in his mind. "Honestly? No."

He sighed, sitting up again. "Okay, fine, I called because I decided I want to take you somewhere."

"Where? And why?"

"Because you need to get away for a bit and just relax. And the where is up to you."

"You're kidding," she said.

"Nope. I'm taking you somewhere for the whole day, anywhere you like."

"I don't want to go anywhere."

"Not an option."

She paused, probably weighing the possible consequences in her mind, knowing her. "Oh, fine, why not?"

"Where do you want to go?" he pressed.

"I already told you, so why don't you make a suggestion?"

"How about Paris?"

Chloe laughed, as he'd known she would. "How about not?"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not going to France with you, Ollie. Case closed. Why don't you pick somewhere closer to home?"

"New York City?" he said, smirking.

She made a sound like a buzzer.

"Chicago?"

Another buzzer sound. "Why don't you try somewhere in the city limits, Ollie?"

"You are incredibly unadventurous."

"You are incredibly ludicrous, but I never bother to complain about it," she said matter-of-factly.

"All right, fine, why don't we just walk around Metropolis all day like tourists and not do anything important whatsoever? No wedding planning for you, and no work for me," he said.

After a moment's hesitation, she finally said, "Sounds fun."

"Excellent. Now, I know I can't pick you up because your place has more cameras than a state prison, so I assume you'll meet me at my place?"

She laughed darkly at his knowledge of the Luthor security. "You got it, handsome."

"Excellent. See you in...?"

"Give me twenty minutes?" she told him, and he could finally hear a grin in her voice.

* * *

**Author's Comment: **_**Now**_** we're talkin'.**

**.....no pun intended. Seriously. I don't **_**do**_** puns.**

**Oh, never mind.**

**B.S.S.**


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Comment: This story is getting to be so much longer than I originally planned. Jeez.**

**Also, I thought I'd mention to all the people who were previously frustrated with Oliver's restrained behavior around Chloe, if you've never noticed, guys who think of themselves as 'playas' maintain a strange level of respect and protectiveness toward the girls who are their friends. To me it seemed unnatural for Oliver not to respect the fact that Chloe's engaged to some extent.**

**BlueSuedeShoes**

* * *

--12--

"You look beautiful," Oliver told Chloe charmingly when she appeared in his apartment.

Chloe only looked at him, trying not to lose all dignity and gawk.

He was shirtless. On purpose, of course, but no need to tell her that. He looked down. "Oh, right, sorry. I got caught up in something and lost track of time." He headed for his room and grabbed the shirt lying in wait for him, walking back out before putting it on and buttoning it slowly.

"How's your arm?" she asked, glancing at the one that had received the dog bite.

He shrugged. "Doing pretty well, thanks to your expert care. Thanks again for that," he added, smiling at her gratefully.

"No problem. Have you changed the bandages out at all?"

His brow wrinkled. "Should I?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "For the love of--You act like this is the first time you've been injured."

"I don't know. Usually a band-aid takes care of it. This was a little more serious."

"You're telling me," she said sarcastically, walking over to him to roll up the sleeve and have a look. "We're not leaving until I refit the bandages and make sure it's not infected, okay?"

"You're not pouring that hydrogen peroxide on it again. Fool me once..." he trailed off.

She chuckled. "Baby."

"I am not a baby. You're just evil."

"Only a little," she smirked, pulling him over to the couch just like before.

After Chloe had tossed away the old bandages and checked to make sure he was healing properly, she redressed his wound just as before, minus the hydrogen peroxide. She did wash it with soap and water in the sink, though, giving Oliver an unusual mixture of pain from the soap and pressure along with the marvelous repeated pleasure of her nimble hands running over his arm. After that she added more of the antibacterial ointment and then redid the gauze and bandaging.

She patted his hand gently, indicating when she was finished.

He smirked at her. _"And?"_

Chloe frowned but then laughed in recognition. She placed a gentle kiss on his arm before getting up off her knees.

"You know," he said mischievously, "I bit my lip _really_ badly this morning--"

"Get over it," she said, smirking in response and brushing past him for the door.

"Oh, before I forget!" Oliver said suddenly. Her hand dropped from pressing the operating button for the lift as she turned back to him, eyebrows up. He vanished into his room for a moment before reappearing with a small, unwrapped box. "I got you a present," he said teasingly.

She frowned, taking it from him. "What is it?"

"Open it."

She did so, then had to stifle a grin at what she saw. "Really, Ollie?" she asked looking up at him. In the box was a green cell phone.

"I got tired of waiting on you to call me, so I got you a bug-free one. And I already have the number, so there's no use trying to hide it," he added, pleased with himself.

"Yeah," she said, pursing her lips in her attempt not to smile. "But no one said I have to take your calls."

"Please," he said. "Like we both don't know you cherish every moment with me."

"You are so egotistical!"

He shrugged. "But it's a cute egotistical."

She laughed. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because you love me," he suggested lightly, pressing the button to the lift finally.

Outside things were beautiful. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. It was the first sunshine Metropolis had seen in days, and the sun seemed to have decided that if it was making a comeback, it was going to do it right.

Chloe really did look beautiful, he thought vaguely. Not because of what she was wearing or anything, but because she really did seem to have needed a day to just escape all the problems in her world. He was dealing with a lighter, more innocent Chloe if only for a short moment.

He liked the way the sunlight made her face flush and created a gentle glow around her golden hair.

"So," he said, slipping a hand casually into hers. "Where do you want to go?"

She shrugged. "Somewhere."

"Somewhere sounds good," he said, as they strolled aimlessly.

They ended up at the heart of the city, where Chloe insisted they toss coins into a fountain, making a wish.

"What did you wish for?" Chloe asked Oliver afterward.

"More sunshine," he said jokingly, thinking of the effect it seemed to have on her person. He would have wished she'd break her engagement, but he knew a fountain wasn't going to solve that. A lot of praying, maybe, but not a fountain. He just hoped that he and God were seeing eye to eye on this one. "What did you wish for?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the fountain.

"I'm not telling," she said, grinning deviously.

"Well that's not fair!" he said, pulling her down next to him.

"It's perfectly fair," she said. "You just didn't know the rules. Now you do."

"You're absurd," he said, poking her in the ribs and causing her to squeal mirthfully.

"Stop that!" she laughed, swatting his hand away when he tried to do it again.

"But it's so much fun!" he protested, pinching her other side and producing yet another shriek of laughter as she tried and failed to scoot away from him. She eventually had to stand up altogether to break free.

"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" she mocked him, eyes laughing. She backed away carefully before turning around and abandoning him, forcing him to chase after her.

"Nope," he said pleasantly, catching up, stringing a hand around her waist.

Chloe's eyebrow lifted suspiciously. "Careful, Mr. Queen. People are going to start getting the wrong impression."

He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "What's the wrong impression?"

She shuddered involuntarily and he smirked confidently. She was cute when she was oblivious. Still, she twisted out of his grip, forcing him to shove his hand in his pocket for the moment as punishment.

"You know," he said after a while, finally turning regretfully to more serious topics, "it really bothers me that you're afraid to tell your fiance what's going on with you."

She gave him a warning look, one that clearly told him not to go there, but he forged ahead recklessly anyway.

"I'm serious, Chloe. I don't want to see you end up miserable because you trap yourself in a relationship with a man you have to hide everything from."

"Just because you and Lex don't get along--"

"This isn't because it's Lex, Chloe," he told her frankly. "It could be my best friend and I still wouldn't like it. I have a whole set of issues that pertain to Lex alone, but even if he were a perfect saint, I wouldn't like the fact that you have to keep so much from him."

Chloe looked at him thoughtfully. "Some things are more important, Ollie. So I put up with a little over-protectiveness some times, and maybe I have to tweak the truth once in a while, but he needs me. Lex would fall apart without me."

"And you?" Oliver prompted. "What about you? What do you get out of this relationship?"

She gave him a very determined look. "I get to be loved back, Ollie."

He thought about arguing how stupid that was, and pointing out that he would be happy to provide that same service, but he knew that there, in the afternoon in the middle of the street, was not the time or place to do so. So he dropped it.

"If you say so," he shrugged.

"I do," she told him firmly, crossing her arms across her chest and quickening the pace of her steps slightly. The anxiety had reappeared behind her eyes.

Oliver groaned inwardly. How was he supposed to break down that kind of wall? What had happened to Chloe growing up that she clung so desperately to such a detrimental relationship?


	14. Chapter 13

**Author's Comment: This was supposed to be an end note, but then I didn't want to ruin the moment, but I still had to say it: Insert ominous background music here.**

**So...have some ready while you're reading or something.**

**BlueSuedeShoes**

* * *

--13--

When Oliver walked Chloe back to his apartment at the end of the day, they had returned to a lighter mood. Chloe was positively glowing from the elixir of taking time to be selfish. She was holding his hand again, he thought happily, particularly because she had initiated it this time.

"Want to come up?"

Chloe bit her lip, debating.

"Come on, we'll finish off the day with some drinks," he tempted her. "Watch the sunset from the balcony, maybe?"

She rolled her eyes. "I have no argument for that kind of thing."

He grinned broadly. "I know." He dragged her into the building and up to his penthouse.

Later they stood out on the balcony, enjoying the cool summery breeze that was toying with them, and watched the sun go down into a haze of peach, scarlet, and smoky lavender.

Oliver wondered why he'd never thought to introduce alcohol into the equation before. Of course, he wasn't going to get her completely wasted or anything; he wouldn't do that to her. But a martini or two to loosen her tightly sealed lips and a few of her inhibitions? He shook his head at his own slowness.

Chloe's cheeks had a light flush after the day and the drinks, and she was leaning against the balcony with an expression of pure appreciation, tilting her face toward the sinking red sun.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, propping himself on his elbow and watching her closely.

She smiled, closing her eyes. "Freedom."

Naturally. "What do you mean?"

"Real freedom, you know? Freedom from hatred or worry or anger...from anything negative."

"There's always going to be a little negativity, you know. You wouldn't appreciate the nice things without it."

"Maybe, but I could do with a lot less of it," she said, a hint of sadness behind the words.

"I know, Chlo. I know." He sighed.

He reached over and slipped a hand around her waist, drawing her into his side.

She opened her eyes. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, her green eyes fixed intently on him now.

"You don't want to know."

"Sure I do."

He shook his head.

She frowned. "Tell me."

He sighed once again, tightening his grip on her waist a bit. "Well don't get mad at me for it, but I was thinking about what you said earlier."

Her frown deepened. "I'm going to need a little more specification."

"About being loved back."

"Oh," she said, voice turning slightly sour at the return to that particular conversation. Then she gave in wearily. "What about it?"

"I think you're being stupid," he told her bluntly.

She glared at him.

"I told you not to get mad," he reminded her.

"Kinda hard not to," she said irritably.

"Look, Chloe, I just think that you're throwing your life away. Maybe you do have feelings for each other but you're not happy! You say the thing you get out of it is being loved back, but has it ever occurred to you that someone other than Lex Luthor might be able to do that for you?"

Her eyes started welling with tears and she pulled away from his touch. "No."

"Well it should."

"No, Oliver," she ground out. "I mean it hasn't occurred to me because I got over that idea a long time ago. You don't know what I've been through!" she shouted suddenly.

"Chloe--"

"No! Don't you lecture me on optimism when you haven't got the slightest idea what I've dealt with over the years. Rejection, Ollie. Cold, hard, brutal rejection from everyone I ever cared about. I stopped believing in Prince Charming when I was sixteen. There's no such thing. I'm not going to leave the only person to ever really care about me just because the relationship's a little flawed."

"_A little flawed?_ Chloe, the man is having you watched. You're constantly looking over your shoulder because you're constantly terrified that he's going to find out you actually have a life outside of him. A life, I might add, that is taking a very frightening turn for you right now, which you'll be facing _alone!_ You can't possibly want that for yourself!"

"Well maybe that's all I've got, Ollie. I'm sorry I don't lead the charmed life you seem to envision for me! Real life doesn't work that way, and in real life, I'm lucky to have someone who cares about me as much as Lex does," she said, choking back the tears that were threatening more and more adamantly. She took a shuddering breath before saying, "I should go. I'm sorry we had to end the day like this, but I don't want to stick around for this."

She turned away from him and Ollie had to make a very quick decision. He chased after her, whipping her around to face him before she reached the door and wrenching her against him. Hands gripping her shoulders, he kissed her gently and breifly, attempting valiantly to control himself. Slowly he pulled his lips away for a moment, breathing heavily before bringing them back to hers, this time with a kind of urgent fever, silently pleading with her.

Chloe stood in shock, tears now pouring down her cheeks, her body apparently no longer functioning.

He released her carefully, preparing himself for anything, most likely a good, sound slap across the face.

She didn't slap him, though. She backed away, looking at him with wide, scared eyes.

"Chloe," he said quietly, the torture evident in his voice. "I'm not trying to force you to do anything you don't want; I just wanted you to know you have a choice."

She shook her head, biting back a sob. "I can't," she whispered hoarsely. "I can't."

"Chloe," he said, pain wrenching his heart at the words.

"You don't understand, Oliver!" she pleaded with him. "I'm the only thing in his life that holds him together! I can't leave him because then anything good in him will die! Nothing and no one else can protect him from himself. I _chose_ this because I knew I cared about him and I couldn't watch him slide into total darkness and not lift a finger! I can't, Ollie! _Please_," she begged him, crying earnestly.

So the truth came out. Oliver thought he was going to vomit, the nausea gripping him was so awful.

How did he argue with that? It was sick, twisted logic that would ruin her life, but how did you argue with a martyr? She was willing to sacrifice herself because she was convinced there was still some good in him. He had a vision of Fay Ray being held in the clutches of King Kong, trying to tell the pilots not to shoot the beast, a pointless, futile task. Luthor had already fallen into the grips of evil long ago, even if Chloe didn't realize it, and there was nothing she could do to save him.

But there was also nothing he could do to stop her.

Chloe gave him a heartbroken look, still shaking her head in defiance of what was happening around her, trying to shut her eyes to it. "I'm so sorry, Ollie. I just can't," she whispered before turning to leave, wiping the tears from her face with the palm of her hand.

He wanted to go after her and drag her back and demand she stay with him, but he couldn't. His legs wouldn't obey his brain, which only had room for one coherent thought anyway.

Chloe was offering herself up to the world as a human sacrifice.


	15. Chapter 14

--14--

Twenty-four hours later found Oliver suited up with the rest of the league, preparing to infiltrate the lab by the river.

Oliver's eyes were bloodshot, and not a single face on the team didn't express concern for him, but they all knew better than to say anything. Oliver was facing the situation at hand with a gritty determination, but not reckless abandon. He wasn't going to do anything stupid, so there was nothing any one could do to help him for the moment.

When they reached the heart of the building undetected, not a single mouth didn't open in horror.

"Are--are you guys seeing this?" Bart whispered into his intercom.

"Hold your position, Impulse," Oliver said.

"But--"

"Hold it, Impulse," he repeated, knowing that not one of them wasn't itching to go down there and _do_ something.

Once again they encountered human test subjects, but these looked malnourished and sleep-deprived. A young woman was strapped to a reclined table, being examined, poked and prodded, needles being stuck into her as though she were an animal, but--thank God--they weren't precisely torturing her.

"Who are these people?" AC whispered.

"I don't think this is the same stuff we were dealing with before. These aren't people being infected with the meteor rock syrum. They're _already_ infected," Victor replied. He had the best view of the computer screens, able to zoom in and out of them with a robotic eye.

"Cyborg."

"Yeah boss?"

"I want evidence."

"What?"

"I want hard evidence of who's behind this. Aquaman and Impulse, hold your positions. Cyborg, I need to know if we can't get some kind of solid proof of who put this thing into spin. Can you see any paperwork with signatures, anything owned by Luthorcorp, anyth--"

"How about the man himself?"

Oliver nearly choked. "What?" he hissed.

"Sector B. Lex Luthor just walked in."

"Get a recording, Cyborg. Everything he does, says, touches. I want it on tape."

"You got it, boss," came Victor's reply.

"Keep yourselves hidden at all costs. We wait til Luthor leaves, get out any of the hostages we can _without being seen_. After that, we regroup and lay out a plan on how to take this thing out. Confirmation."

"Impulse good to go."

"Aquaman set."

"Cyborg on it."

"Arrow out," he said, dropping out of an air vent before making his way to section B. He had to see it for himself.

Remaining in the shadows, the Green Arrow hoisted himself up into the rafters where no one could see him. Luthor was there all right. There was a small part of him that wanted to rip the man to shreds right there, but he knew it wouldn't do anyone any good right then, especially not his team, however satisfying it might be in the long run.

"I'm disgusted with your slow progress, Doctor," Luthor was saying to a man in a lab coat, clearly the head of the project.

"Sir, we've made incredible headway in the last couple of months. The discoveries we've made--"

"But none of them is the discovery I commissioned you to make. You have yet to determine how to control what form a mutation takes. That lab over in suicide slums blew up this month and you claim that nothing you were doing could cause an explosion--"

"It's true!"

"--and yet it happened, and all of the information was lost."

"It had something to do with the Green Arrow, I swear! And not all of the research was lost after all. Several of our hard drives were retrieved two days ago. Of course, there's no getting back the test subjects. No remains were found, meaning they had to have escaped, which, I must repeat to you, seriously threatens the integrity of this project's secrecy."

"Well then you shouldn't have let them get away, should you?" Luthor yelled abruptly. The people around him cowered. He took a couple of deep breaths. "Prove to me that you are not completely incompetent in the next forty-eight hours, or start going over your last will and testament, Doctor." Luthor said threateningly.

The scientist nodded, trying not to look terrified.

"Cyborg," Oliver said into the intercom as he watched Luthor leave the room. "Tell me you got that."

"Every word, GA."

"If you were a woman, I'd kiss you."

"Ew!" he heard Bart and AC respond simultaneously, and he smirked.

Oliver took on a more business like tone. "All right, get out anyone you can without drawing attention to yourselves. Only take the ones in need of immediate medical attention. I'll take care of the girl we saw earlier."

They gave their confirmation and Oliver split away, heading for the room they'd been in earlier. He was lucky. There were only two people in the room aside from the girl, a guard and a lesser scientist. Oliver dropped down behind the guard and knocked him out cold. The scientist yelled in surprise and started to make a run for the security pad on the opposite wall, and Oliver shot a dart in his direction, rendering the man unconscious, but not before the man had set off an alarm. Red lights started flashing and a siren blared in his ears.

"What happened?" AC's voice said in his ear.

"Scientist set off an alarm. Everyone get out now. We don't want to be seen. Right now they're only going to know I've been here."

"Got it," came Victor's voice.

"Everyone hand off your hostages to Impulse. He can get the most out of here in the least amount of time. I'll follow."

"No problem, el capitan."

He walked over to the girl on the table, who was practically shaking in her exhaustion.

"Hey," he said quietly, "hey, it's okay. I'm gonna get you out of here." He undid the straps on the table. "Everything's okay." She nodded her head weakly. He wished for a moment that the voice distorter wasn't as intimidating as he lifted her gently off the table, trying not to think about how fragile her body felt in his arms. She couldn't be more than sixteen years old.

This was sick.

Lex Luthor was sick.

"Take me home," she whispered.

"No problem, kiddo," he told her, but of course, several guards chose that moment to burst into the room, holding guns up. They were followed by Lex Luthor.

"Kill him!" Lex commanded.

"Hold your breath," he told the girl before firing an arrow that instantly released knock-out gas. He fired a second dart at Luthor, knocking him unconscious, then took advantage of the guards' confusion and made his way out of the room before the gas could effect him as well.

* * *

Ten hours later they had returned and debriefed. They'd only been able to get a small handful of hostages out for the moment. He almost wondered whether that much had been a mistake. He wanted to get them all out, but raising alarm now had been reckless. The rest of their work was going to be ten times more difficult.

Still, seeing the scared look in that girl's eyes, he knew there hadn't really been a choice. She and the other's had been taken to various hospitals in the area, rather than having them all show up in one place. Doctor's had been told to keep an extremely low-profile on all the cases, and only their immediate families were to be contacted.

The others had gone home, returned to their lives if only for a short amount of time, but Oliver hadn't stopped pacing his apartment, holding the memory stick with the video in his hand so tightly he thought he might crush it by accident.

He didn't know how to handle this. He knew that he had lost Chloe the night before. There was no helping that. She was so far gone there was no pulling her out.

But she had to know. She had to know the truth. That was the one thought that kept him pacing the floor. Based on what Chloe had said to him, she knew that Luthor had a dark side, but she didn't seem to have a clue that that side was in control. It had taken him over, and Luthor didn't have an ounce of good in him anymore. The side of him that he showed Chloe was a facade, a way to keep her. And with her newly developing meteor infection, Oliver was convinced that Chloe was in danger every second she spent with Luthor.

There was only one thing for it, he thought, looking at the memory stick with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It was four in the morning. Luthor would have left the lab several hours ago. The dart he'd used didn't last for log. By now he was back, but he had to be asleep. He wondered what had brought him home from his business conference three days early.

He called Victor.

"Dude, you need to get a life," was the first thing Victor said, answering the phone almost immediately.

"Don't answer your phone whenever I call you," Oliver said humorously.

He heard Victor yawn, "But then who would aid and abet your amorous endeavors, I ask you?"

"I owe you."

"Well you can relax. I've already got the video on loop."

"What?"

"I had a feeling you were going to be paying a visit to the Luthor building sometime tonight, so when I got home I set the whole thing up. All the cameras will start looping images of empty rooms as soon as I push the big red button."

"I'm giving you a raise."

"And a vacation," Victor added for him.

"Whatever you want," Oliver said gratefully. "Go ahead and start the loop in five minutes."

"You got it, Oliver."


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Comment: I really can't believe how long this is getting to be, but I swear I'll draw everything to a close before I hit chapter 20. I hope.**

**Wow I **_**really**_** hope I don't write a 20 chapter fan fiction. There have got to be other things I should be spending my time on, **_**college**_** for instance...**

**B.S.S.**

* * *

--15--

Oliver could hear his heart pounding as he attempted to navigate Luthor's massive penthouse. The thing was three stories. He wondered irritably what he did with all the space. Wasn't a mansion in Smallville enough?

The thing was, he wasn't worried about his own safety, not really. He was worried about what might happen to Chloe if one of the video's caught her talking to the Green Arrow. She'd never be able to explain it to her psychotic fiance.

Suddenly he heard voices, and his instinct was to go the other way until he recognized one of the voices as Chloe's.

Silently he approached the door to what must be her room.

"I don't believe you!" Chloe was shouting.

"Me? Why don't you explain these photos to me, Chloe?" Oliver heard the slap of paper and envisioned Lex throwing photographs onto a table. He wished he could see.

"Why don't _you_ explain them, Lex? As in, why were they even taken? I can't believe you've been having me followed! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why don't you explain what the hell you've been doing with Oliver Queen?"

Oliver's stomach twisted in guilt. Great, he'd gotten her in trouble.

"He's a friend, Lex. A friend I haven't seen since I was a little girl. We have a really deep history, okay? Of course I wanted to spend some time with him!"

"Would you mind telling me what you were doing in his apartment?"

"We had a couple of drinks! It was nothing. I'm a big girl, and I can more than take care of myself. Besides, I trust Ollie. He would never cross a line with me."

Another pang of guilt. Marvelous. She was lying because of him now. Not that she hadn't been lying before.

"You know, Lex, if you were interested in what I was doing in my personal time, you could have just asked! I'm sick of how controlling you've become! I tried to ignore the bug in my cell phone and the cameras all over the place, but I just can't believe you stooped to having me followed! How do you defend that? I mean, do you honestly not have an ounce of respect for my privacy? Or more importantly, do you not trust me at all? I swear you've gone off the deep end this time!"

"You're the one who's been running around with another man behind my back! Who cares if you're being followed if you have nothing to hide?"

"Because it's an invasion, Lex! How do I get that through to you? This has got to stop. I want my freedom back!"

"Prove you can handle it. What if a journalist had taken those photos of you, Chloe? You'd be plastered all over the tabloids by now. Forget how bad that would make me look, can you honestly say you'd be able to live with the reputation of cheating on your fiance?"

"You know something, Lex, I probably could live with it because _I_ would know the truth, and that's all that matters! There's nothing going on between me and Ollie! There's nothing going on between me and anyone other than you! I don't know why you don't trust me! I've done everything to prove to you that I'm different from the other women in your life! When your father was alive he tried to bribe me to leave you, Lex! He thought I was a distraction from your work and that I wouldn't be able to live up to this world, but I refused. Later he pretended it was a test of my 'loyalty' to you! I ignored him and I ignored everyone else who's ever told me that we were wrong for each other! What do you want from me?"

There was a horrible silence, the tension in the air weighing down on Chloe, Lex, and their unseen guest. It felt like thick black smoke surrounding them.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me my father did that."

"Great!" Chloe said, and Oliver knew she was rolling her eyes. "So once again it's something I didn't do, not 'Gee, Chloe, I can't believe how much you must love me to tolerate all of this!' or 'Wow, Chloe, I really don't deserve how good you are to me, not to mention how loyal!' God, Lex, I can't deal with this right now."

"What are you saying?"

"I mean I need to go home to Smallville for a while. I miss my dad and my friends. Lana invited me to come stay for a week or two ages ago. I assume you haven't set up any cameras or bugs in her place, yet?" she added accusingly. "I'm going to bed. Tomorrow I'm going home for a while to think, Lex. Okay? We may need to postpone the wedding. I'll call you when I know what I want."

Oliver realized someone was heading for the door and hid himself just in time to see a furious, albeit miserable, Lex storm out of the room.

He wasn't sure what to do next. Part of him didn't want to make Chloe deal with anymore and was telling him to turn around now and let her be.

The rest of him knew he had to grit his teeth and tell her everything. If she really was going to rethink her engagement, she deserved all the facts.

The lights in the room turned out and Oliver crept in undetected. She was staring out the window, in a nightgown. Lex had clearly woken her up. Photos of her and Oliver were strewn across the table, and a few had fallen to the floor. He caught sight of one of them by the fountain, another of her climbing out of his car outside the bakery. Quietly he approached her and covered her mouth to muffle her startled scream.

He turned her around to face him and her body remained tense, but her face looked ever so slightly relieved.

"The videos are looped, and I'm not staying," he told her, feeling her muscles unclench before he released her mouth.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed, taking a step away from him.

"I came to see you. There's something you need to see."

Her eyes darted toward the door. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," he said, confirming her worst fear. She sank onto the bed in shame. "Hey," he gripped his shoulder. "I'm just glad you stood up for yourself. I'm not here to discuss us, though. The boys and I found another lab like the one I told you about."

She looked up, frowning.

"This one's probably the mother ship, and I thought you should see this," he held up the memory stick.

Tentatively, she reached out and took it. "Why?"

"Watch it," he told her. "Erase everything when you're done. Don't show it to anyone else. I have my own copy, and I don't want anything to be compromised."

She nodded, frowning. "What is it?"

He studied her before turning to leave.

"Oliver?" she said, demanding some explanation.

He glanced back at her. "It's the man you're going to marry," he said, vanishing out the door.


	17. Chapter 16

--16--

Two weeks had passed. Two whole, long, drawn-out, horrible weeks.

Oliver and the rest of the JL had managed to take out the lab and with any luck shut down the entire operation entirely. They'd gotten the hostages out and safely to Metropolis General where they were being cared for.

He'd heard from Chloe once. The morning after he left the memory stick for her, she'd called him with one question.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"That all depends on you."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to be the person to send your husband to prison. At least not this time."

She'd been quiet. "Thank you."

"I'm not saying that I won't do it, Chlo. I'm saying the decision is yours. You tell me, Sidekick," he'd told her firmly.

After another long pause, she'd said with a sigh. "I don't know what he and I are going to do. I'll figure that out separately."

He realized he was holding his breath but couldn't release it.

"But right now, regardless," she continued, "I want you to use that evidence. Husband, fiance, ex...whatever he is or will be to me, he's gone over the edge. I'm sorry I wasn't able to see it for myself."

And without giving him a chance to say anything else, she'd hung up, leaving Oliver feeling confused and isolated.

He'd taken the appropriate--albeit anonymous--legal actions against Lex, who was now facing a very serious criminal trial in the near future.

And Oliver was left with no way of distracting himself from the looming question: what was Chloe going to decide? Had she given up on Lex for good, or would she decide that he needed her now more than ever?

Every time he thought of the latter he cringed. It would be only too like her. It hadn't taken long after his reunion with Chloe to understand that even with all the time that had passed, there were certain things about her that would never change. Chloe would always care about her friends more than herself. She would always put herself in danger without blinking if it meant helping someone else. She was loyal to a point of mania, and she would always love the things that she believed no one else was willing to love.

Oliver remembered how Chloe had been the only kid on the street to befriend a stray dog who snarled and bared its teeth at anyone else to approach it. It had been shortly before she moved away. She'd looked at that dog, prowling behind the bushes and before he could stop her she'd walked right up to it. Oliver, at ten years old, had gone totally white in horror, imagining her getting her hand ripped off when she crouched down and clucked her tongue softly to the mutt, coaxing it to come out and offering the back of her hand to it. Slowly, the vicious thing had crept out of the bushes. Oliver, meanwhile, had nearly tackled Chloe to push her out of the way, but she'd just waved a dismissive hand at him.

"Hey, sweet boy," Chloe had said quietly to the beast. "You're not so mean, are you?"

The dog had then walked right up to Chloe and licked her face, wagging its tail and whining.

"Yeah, you're just a big softie," she'd laughed, scratching his ears. "Nobody really understands that, do they?" she'd asked. "It's okay," she whispered to him, so that Oliver had to strain his ears to hear it. "It's okay; I'll love you."

And Oliver had just stared at her in disbelief, the small beauty who had tamed the wild beast.

He wondered what it was about Chloe that brought out the gentle side in even the most vicious of creatures. Part of him felt the tiniest twinge of pity for Lex Luthor. He could understand the healing element of being around someone like Chloe. She brought out the best in everyone, generally speaking. It was probably why so many terrible people were so drawn to her.

Himself included, he groaned inwardly, walking up to his penthouse. He knew he was hardly in the same category as a rabid dog or a villain like Luthor, but he was no saint, either. He'd made more than his fair share of mistakes in life, and he knew he would make many more.

Chloe brought out the best in him, too.

When he got to his apartment he nearly yelled in shock to find an extremely tall, dark-haired man in a blue shirt and red jacket standing in the middle of his apartment.

"Oliver Queen?" he questioned.

Oliver's stance tensed, preparing for anything. "Who the hell are you, and how did you get in here?" he demanded.

"Oh relax," the man said, taking a seat in a plush armchair. "I'm Clark Kent, a friend of Chloe's."

Oliver's muscles loosened but his frown deepened. "What are you doing here?" Worry gripped him. "Is Chloe all right?"

Clark raised an eyebrow at him. "Funny you should ask." He pulled a familiar green phone out of his pocket. "I was hoping you could explain this."

Oliver frowned. "Isn't...isn't that Chloe's phone?"

Clark nodded slowly.

"What are you doing with it?"

"Well," Clark said, flipping it open, "I've been trying to figure out the strangest thing about it."

"What?" Oliver asked, completely lost by now.

"Why it doesn't ring," Clark said pointedly, looking Oliver square in the eyes and tossing him the phone.

Oliver caught it, still bewildered. "It doesn't....oh." He looked sheepishly at it. "Right."

Clark shrugged. "I was just a little curious. Now, I don't really know you, but Chloe says you're a good guy, so that goes a long way with me." He folded his arms and looked Oliver square in the eye. Let me make something very clear for you: Chloe is very, very bad at telling people how she feels...which," he added, a look of shame creeping across his face, "is partly my fault...Mostly my fault, really, but regardless, Chloe's engagement ring mysteriously vanished from her hand about a week and a half ago, and she's been checking _that_ phone every twenty minutes since. Now what you need to understand is that _she_ is not going to call _you_. Chloe has about fifty thousand walls up to protect herself and making herself vulnerable is not her strong suit." Oliver stared at him and Clark rolled his eyes. _"Call her,"_ he spelled out.

"Well yeah," Oliver said. "I got that part. I'm just wondering who the heck you are."

Clark shrugged. "I've been her best friend since she moved to Smallville."

"And..._how_ exactly did you break into my heavily secured apartment?"

Clark smirked. "You know, you underestimate the kind of friends Chloe keeps around."

Chloe's voice suddenly started ringing in the back of his mind. _"You, believe it or not, are not my first encounter with someone in the hero business."_ Oh. Well this explained a lot. Oliver narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Clark Kent. He wondered just what this kid was capable of.

"Right," he said finally. "Well thanks for the heads up, Boy Scout. The speech probably wasn't necessary," he added with a smirk, "but I appreciate the general intention." He tossed the cell phone back to Clark, who caught it with astonishingly quick reflexes.

Clark nodded and headed for the door. "One more thing," he said, pausing. "If you're going to hurt her, then don't call, and know that if you do hurt her, you will be found and you will regret it."

Up until that point, Oliver had had a hard time taking this boy scout of America seriously, but at that particular moment, there was something in his tone of voice that indicated that he meant it, and if only for the mutual concern for Chloe's welfare, Oliver felt an ounce of respect for him.

"Chill, Boy Scout. Last thing I want to do is hurt Chloe."

Clark nodded and before Oliver could turn around to say anything else to him, he'd vanished. Oliver blinked in surprise.

Chloe really did attract a weird crowd, he thought dryly.

* * *

**Author's Comment: Okay, I have been waiting for the perfect moment for Clark to make an appearance in this story and it just finally **_**happened**_**. yay**


	18. Chapter 17

--17--

_Knowing_ that he had to be the one to contact Chloe was one thing. Actually doing something about it was an entirely different matter.

How exactly was he supposed to handle this? It wasn't as though he could just walk up to her and say "Hey, thank God you broke up with your super-villain fiance because I'm in love with you. Let's make out now."

Meaning that it had already been two days since his encounter with the do-gooder, Kent, and Oliver still hadn't determined a course of action.

Finally, with total abandon, he got in his car, not really even thinking about it, and headed to Smallville. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there or what he was going to say. He just knew he couldn't take sitting around doing nothing anymore.

And then he was driving into the most cliche small town he'd ever imagined. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen so much _corn_. He suddenly realized he had no idea where she actually was. He vaguely remembered her saying that she would stay with a friend...Hanna or Anna or something like that, but that wasn't much help. Finally it occurred to him though, after driving past the fourth or fifth farm house, that if there was ever a time that stopping for directions would actually help, well, this was it.

He pulled into the next drive and knocked on the door.

"Can I help you?" asked an auburn haired woman, answering the door. A golden retriever appeared by her side, sitting down and wagging its tail. He thought he could actually smell something baking inside. Jeez, this town was _unreal_.

"I was wondering if you could tell me where I could find Chloe Sullivan."

She looked him up and down, an eyebrow raised. "Are you now or have you ever been a lawyer?"

"No."

"Right. She's staying at the Talon. Coffee shop in town. You can't miss it. Lana will be working the counter. Tell her Martha said you were all right."

He grinned. "Thank you." He started to turn away but then he had to ask. "Do I seriously look like a lawyer?"

She laughed. "You can't be too careful, especially when it comes to Chloe these days."

He nodded, smiling. "Thanks."

"No problem. Good luck."

He had a sudden suspicion as he got in his car that this Martha person knew who he was. Then, with a laugh he passed the mailbox at the end of the drive. It read "Kent" on the side. Of course. Of all the farms to stop at, he'd managed to find that one, he thought, shaking his head in amusement.

When he got to the heart of the town he found that Martha Kent had been right. It was almost impossible to miss. He pulled in, feeling that his now dust-coated sports car looked distinctly out of place amidst all the trucks and 'sensible' cars. He rolled his eyes at himself. Nothing about him fit in here.

He had to take a moment to appreciate the place, though, looking around him. Smallville was exactly what it's name suggested. It was almost hard to believe it was so picturesque, and really, he had to struggle to imagine Chloe being anything but happy growing up in a place like this. It was so hard to picture anything hurting her here, but a lot of experience with human nature had taught him that things are not always what they seem, and there's no such thing as Heaven on Earth.

He entered the Talon, a bell clanging to announce his arrival. The whole place was filled with the kind of people who belonged in a place called Smallville. Everyone seemed to know each other and everyone seemed to be enjoying the lazy summer day. He figured that the local school was probably out for the summer by now, noting all the teenagers hanging around doing nothing.

Oliver approached the counter and a pretty brunette turned to greet him. "What can I get you?" she asked, drying off a mug. Then she took in his appearance. "Out of towner?" she asked, smirking.

He had to chuckle. "Actually I don't want a coffee. Are you Lana?"

She nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"I was told you could help me find Chloe Sullivan. I think she's staying here?" he asked hopefully.

Lana's expression instantly changed from friendly to suspicious. "Are you a lawyer?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" he asked, laughing.

Lana remained humorless. "I'm sorry, but Chloe's not taking any visitors right now. So if you have business to handle with her, you can leave a message with her father. If it's urgent, I'll deliver it. Otherwise, you're just going to have to postpone it for a couple of weeks." Her tone was firm, and Oliver could tell that there was no doubt whatsoever that she wasn't letting _anyone_ past her.

"Martha Kent said to tell you I'm 'all right,' " he said, hoping that held some leverage.

Once again Lana's expression changed dramatically. "Martha sent you? Well _now _you show me the ruby slippers," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "Chloe's upstairs," jerking her head in the direction of the stairs.

"Thanks, Lana," he said, grinning. "I'll have to get some coffee on my way out."

She nodded. "Do that. And if I find out you really are a lawyer, just know that I'm a third degree black belt."

He blinked at her, unsure as to whether she were kidding. He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Really? Why does everyone here think I'm a lawyer?"

"Because that's the only kind of visitor Chloe's been getting lately. She agreed to testify against her ex-fiance in court," Lana said faltly, turning to wipe off the steamer behind her.

Oliver faltered. "She _what_?"

Lana glanced over her shoulder at him. "Boy are _you_ ever out of touch. Who are you, anyway?"

He shook his head. "Never mind."

He made his way upstairs tentatively, taking it one slow step at a time, still not sure what he would say when he saw her. He got to the door, shut ominously before him, and he knocked twice.

Nothing.

Figuring it was a stupid idea, he slowly opened the door anyway. "Chloe?"

And then he saw her, sitting at the table in deep concentration, headphones plugged in. He walked up behind her to see what she was doing. There were several applications to various newspapers sprawled out on the table and she was drumming a pen irritably on the table, without a single line filled in on any of them.

He tapped her on the shoulder.

Chloe shrieked, turning around and clutching her heart. Then she saw Oliver and her face turned red as she tugged the headphones out of her ears. "Ollie! Don't--_ever--_do that--again!" she breathed, chest heaving up and down.

Oliver smirked. He was glad to see Chloe appeared to be all right. He'd had this looming feeling that he was going to find a shadow of the former Chloe wallowing in her misery and loneliness. "Sorry," he said, trying not to laugh.

"You're terrible," she accused, still blushing vividly. "What are you doing here?" she asked, standing up from the chair and putting tangible distance between herself and Oliver.

He wished he _knew_ what he was doing there. "Visiting you?" he suggested.

She raised an eyebrow. "Here? Now? Unannounced?"

"It was sort of a spontaneous decision."

"Ah," she said, not really sure where any of this was going anyway.

He distracted himself, leaning over to take a better look at the applications. "Going back into journalism, then?" he asked.

Chloe bit her lip. "I...don't really know. I wasn't lying when I told you I'd given up the idea of being a reporter a while ago. I don't know how it happened or why, considering most of my life was building up to it, but somehow I grew out of it."

"Why are you applying then?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Some of us have to work to eat, Ollie."

"Right," he said, feeling stupid. Of course.

There was an awkward silence.

"So..." Chloe said.

"I um...well, how are you doing?" he asked. Great. Real smooth, he thought. What happened to the Casanova who kissed her the other night, huh?

She looked at him skeptically. "Oh just spit it out, Ollie."

He gave her a surprised look. "What?"

"Whatever it is you came here to say."

He looked at the ceiling for help. "I didn't actually plan coming here, so I really don't know what it was I wanted to say."

She laughed. "Wait, you're telling me the Green Arrow dove in headfirst without a plan?" She sat down on the couch, looking at him humorously.

"I don't know what came over me," he said with a smile tugging at his lips. He walked over and sat down beside her. He heaved a large sigh, before looking down at his hands. "I'm sorry, Chloe."

She watched his face carefully, but he just stared determinedly on at his hands. "What for?"

"For being over-bearing and for letting you get hurt."

"Oh God," Chloe said in exasperation. "Really? Why is it everyone thinks that it's their fault when I get hurt? It happens to people other than me, you know."

He looked at her with his brow arched skeptically. "Yeah, but it happens to you a lot more than it should."

Chloe groaned. "Oliver, really, the last thing I need to hear from you is an apology."

He finally turned his head up to look at her. "What do you need to hear from me?"

Her face flushed again.

"Really, Chloe. Tell me. Because I'm coming up short here."

She looked into his earnest eyes and sighed. "I don't know."

"Don't be ridiculous. You always know."

She chuckled, turning away to look out her window at the beautiful summer's day. There was a tall maple tree outside the window with sunlight beating down mirthfully on it. "I want you to tell me that I can go climb that tree and not fall out of it."

He laughed. "What on earth does that _mean_?" he asked her.

She laughed, too. "I'm not really sure, honestly. I think it means I really want to hide away right now and not have it backfire on me."

He put an arm around her, giving her a hug. "You don't have to hide, Chloe. But if you want, I'll gladly give you a boost so you can literally climb that tree."

She chuckled, shaking her head and leaning onto his shoulder. "How did I get here, Ollie?"

"I assumed you drove."

"You know what I mean."

"Oh, Chlo, I haven't got the slightest idea. If I did, we'd all be living very different lives right now."

She sighed, eyes still on the tree outside. Then she closed them. "How?"

He looked down at her warily. "I don't know. Better, easier, less lonely. A lot less stupidity. Less dog bites," he joked, glancing down at his arm, which was still bandaged up, although it was healing fairly well thanks to Chloe.

She laughed quietly in response. "If I could change one thing right now, I would have a brace on my hand from falling down outside yesterday."

Concern seized him. "It happen again?" he asked.

She nodded, head still on his shoulder. "Yeah. I broke my wrist."

His arm tightened on her shoulder. "It'll be all right, Chloe."

She was slow to respond, but when she did speak, it wasn't what Oliver expected to hear. "I know," she said. "For some reason, I'm not as worried about it as I was. Maybe it was the idea of keeping it concealed....Dr. Hamilton's obsessed with me," she added with a giggle. "He thinks it's the most amazing thing. He's testing my blood right now to see if there isn't some sort of miracle drug he can make from my antibodies."

"Well that's...good?" Oliver said, confused.

She nodded again. "It is. I don't know. I just suddenly came into this marvelous acceptance of the whole thing. I think it's going to be all right."

He smiled softly at the top of her head. "That's because it is."

They were quiet for a while before Chloe broke the silence again. "Ask me again."

He frowned. "Ask you what?"

"Ask me what I need you to say."

Oliver found his throat tightening suddenly. "What--" he faltered. "What do you need me to say?"

Without moving, she said simply, "That I still have a choice."

Oliver opened his mouth but no sound came out. Really? His voice was going to fail him now? Well, screw it. He took his arm from her shoulder and tilted her head up to look at him. There it was, that look that meant she was trapped and scared and trying damn hard not to show it. He shook his head at her, a chuckle escaping his lips before he leaned down and kissed her.

This time she kissed him back, too. He suddenly pulled away, laughing at something.

"What?" she demanded, frowning.

"I just remembered that time when I was seven and I kissed you and you hit me in the mouth."

Chloe laughed, too. "If I remember right, it was shortly before that that you told me you were going to 'have to' marry me."

He grinned. "Aw, you remember."

She rolled her eyes. "How can I not? I remember thinking you were the most egotistical first-grader on the planet."

"Don't pretend you don't love it," he said, pulling her back to him so she straddled his lap, laughing as he kissed her. He pinched her sides and she squealed mirthfully.

"Ollie!" she said, her head wrenching backwards as she tried to stop him from tickling her, not making much headway as he kissed her neck as well. "Stop--it!" she gasped, managing to shove him away temporarily, but he just pulled her back again, biting her ear.

"Sorry. Can't help it."

"Try," she said dryly, letting him work his way along her neck again, her head tipping back and her eyes fluttering closed.

"What can I say?" he whispered. "There isn't a single part of you I don't want to touch," he said, before sucking gently at the base of her throat.

Chloe could only release a shuddering breath. "I love you, Ollie," she whispered.

Oliver stopped what he was doing in shock, leaning back to look at her. Chloe frowned at the loss of his lips and opened her eyes to find him staring at her in disbelief.

"Wh--"

"Say it again."

"Say--"

"Say it again," he repeated, not sure he could believe it unless she said it a second time.

Chloe smirked at him. "I love you, Oliver Queen."

His eyes shut in ecstasy at her words and in the next instant he had her pinned beneath him on the couch, kissing every inch of skin within his reach. Chloe's hand clenched in his shirt against his back, groaning in pleasure.

"God, I love you, too," he said, raking his hands over her body. "You can't even imagine."

Chloe's breathing became less steady. "Ollie," she whined.

His hands ran over her thighs causing her to shudder.

"Ollie," she repeated more firmly, apparently attempting to form a fully coherent sentence.

He paid her no attention, kissing her lips and biting down lightly on her bottom lip.

She moaned something unintelligible into his mouth. Reluctantly she forced him back slightly. "Ollie, we can't. It's Lana's apartment. She could walk in any moment."

Oliver stared at her, the words taking a moment to sink in. With a groan he dropped his forehead to her chest, panting. "You can't be serious."

She laughed, throwing him off of her and sending him tumbling to the floor by mistake. He groaned. "I hate you."

"So fickle," she laughed, teasing him. She sat up to look down at him.

"Not really," he replied, his face still against the floor.

"How do you figure?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I love you when I can have you and I hate you when I can't. Very simple."

She giggled. "Well, I can't promise anything. I'm in Smallville indeterminably."

He turned his face to the side to look up at her, still sprawled on the floor without any apparent intention of moving. "Not if I kidnap you."

She looked smugly at him. "I'd like to see you try."

"Fine," he said matter-of-factly, standing up suddenly. Before Chloe knew what he was doing, he had her thrown over his shoulder and she was kicking violently and demanding to be put down. "Nope," he said. "You brought this on yourself. _Challenging_ me," he rolled his eyes, carrying her down the steps and ignoring the shocked stares they were attracting. "One would think you would know better than that."

Lana gawked at them uncertainly as Oliver walked past, still carrying the laughing and protesting Chloe. "Sorry," he told Lana casually. "Raincheck on the coffee."

"W-what are you doing?" Lana asked, apparently confused as to whether or not she should be laughing.

"Kidnapping her," he said simply, "and taking her back to Metropolis."

Lana shook her head, leaning on the counter and watching them go, laughing at last.

When Oliver settled Chloe in the seat, she tried to get out, but he pushed her back down and buckled the seat belt over her arms.

"Ollie!" she laughed, "I can't just go right this second!"

"Yes you can," he told her, climbing into the driver's seat as she fidgeted against the seatbelt.

"I cannot!" she protested. "I have to at least put my things together!"

He rolled his eyes. "I will buy you _new_ things....or at least have your other things mailed to you," he added thoughtfully, starting the engine.

"Why do I see a pattern developing in this relationship?" she asked warily, finally tugging her arms free now that it was too late to jump out of his speeding car.

"Because it's going to be very simple. I take care of you, and you do whatever I tell you to."

She rolled her eyes. "Neanderthal."

"Proud of it."

She looked at him and sighed. "I love you anyway."

He winked shamelessly at her. "I know."

* * *

**Author's Comment: Whew! I don't know what happened here...it just kept **_**going**_**. I considered splitting it into two chapters, even, but I just knew that somehow someone would find a way to come ring my neck for writing an entire chapter that stopped just short of Oliver opening the door to the Talon apartment.**

**Yeah, you know who you are.**

**Jokes aside, I received some very strong (albeit rude) criticism this morning on this story's failure to work in characters other than Chloe or Oliver. I thought it over and realized that this was one of the downfalls of forcing myself to stick to Oliver's point of view. He wouldn't go anywhere near Lex if he could help it, and he doesn't know Clark or Lois....problem. The criticism definitely has merit, however, and I think in a little while, I may come back in and rework some of this, just to see if I can't make it a little less claustrophobic with the characters. It should be a good challenge. So I guess keep your eyes peeled for rewrites if you were a fan.**

**Thank you as always for the praise and the flames,**

**BlueSuedeShoes**


	19. Completion Announcement

**Hey everyone! No, there's not technically a new chapter. I'm posting this to let you know that I've completed the revisions for this story, and I think it's a reasonably improvement, really, although the overall plot doesn't change dramatically.**

**Still, I think the changes make it a little more enjoyable to read, so let me know what you think!**

**As always, I appreciate feedback, although I want to be cheesy for five seconds to remind everyone that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.**

**Til Later,**

**BlueSuedeShoes**


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